UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
LOS  ANGELES 


TELE   LIFE 


GEFL.  TJ.  S.  GRANT, 


THE   GENERAL  IN   CHIEF 


OF 

THE  UNITED  STATES  ARMY, 

BY 
F.  W.  H.  STANSFIET^D. 

"  Can't  is  not  in  the  Dictionary." — Grant  at  School. 


NEW  YORK: 
T.    R.    D^LAVLJBY,    I»TJBIL.ISI3[LR, 

Nos.  13  and  15  PARK  Row. 


Agents  wanted  all  over  the  Country  to  sell  Dawley's  publications. 
— VERY  liberal  inducements  offered. 


ENTERED  ACCORDING  TO  ACT  OF  CONGRESS,  IN  THE  TEAR  1864,  BY 

T.  R.  ID>VW:L,EY, 
IN  THE  CLERK'S  OFFICE  OF  THE  DISTRICT  COURT  OF  THE  UNITED 

STATES,    FOR    THE    SOUTHERN    DISTRICT    OF    NEW    YORK. 


T.  R.  DAWLEY,  Steam  Book,  Job,  and  Newspaper  Printer,  Electro- 

typer,  Stefeotyper,  and  Publisher.— Nos.  13  and  15  Park  Bow 

New  York. 


INTRODUCTION. 


War  has  been  characteristic  of  the  whole  world  in  all 

ages,  and  each  contest  has  produced  its  hero  and  its  gen" 

eral.     But  few  great  generals  have,  however,  been  maiii- 

>  fested  by  those  wars.     Ancient  times  certainly  brought 

I   forth  Xerxes,  Cyrus,  Caesar,  and  Alexander ;  the  middle 

ages  Richard  Cosur  de  Leon,  and  Edward  the  black  prince, 

and  in  modern  times  Napoleon,  Washington  and  Frederick. 

I    But  although  these  names  are  attached  to  great  leaders 

1  yet  history  records  no  instance  of  either  of  them  manag- 

;   ing  such  vast  armies,  over  such  an  extent  of  ground  as  has 

•    Ulysses  S.  Grant,  the  Commanding  General  of  the  United 

i 

|   States  Army.     This  little  volume  is  therefore  set  apart  to 

i   illustrate  the  life  an<^  services  of  that  General. 

NEW  YORK,  1864,  F.  W.  H. 


461457 


THE 

OP 

ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT 


CHAPTER  I. 

GRANT    AS  A  BOY. 

Birth  and  parentage — His  adventures  as  a  schoolboy — How  he  managed 
a  team — His  horse  trade — "  Never  say  cant " — The  defender  of  Washing- 
ton, frc. 

Ulysses  Simpson  Grant,  the  commanding  general  of  all 
the  armies  of  the  United  States,  and  principal  officer  dur- 
ing the  great  battles  of  the  South- West,  during  18G2  and 
1863,  and  during  the  Virginia  Campaign  of  ISGi,  was 
born  at  Mount  Pleasant,  Clermont  County,  Ohio,  on  the 
27th  day  of  April,  1822.  He  is  the  son  of  a  farmer  who 
had  settled  in  the  West  during  that  early  period,  and  who 
had  struggled  along — as  all  new  settlers  have  to  do — to 
keep  himself  afloat.  His  mother  was  formerly  Harriet 
Simpson — hence  his  second  name. 

The  difficulties  of  reaching  markets  to  dispose  of  pro- 
duce made  the  life  of  a  farmer  at  that  particular  time  any- 
thing but  a  money-making  one:  but  still  these  tillers  of 
the  soil  were  enabled  to  live  well  even  if  they  had  but 
few  luxuries.  The  sons  of  Western  farmers,  therefore, 
had  to  work  hard  on  the  farms  in  the  various  labors  at- 
tendant upon  the  cutting  down  of  the  forest  and  breaking 
up  of  the  virgin  soil ;  and  in  this  work  the  brothers  of 
young  Grant  were  consequently  engaged. 


18  THE  LIFE  OP 

The  ancestors  of  U.  S.  Grant  were  Scotch  and  were 
among  the  early  settlers  of  America-  Two  brothers — the 
father  and  uncle  of  the  subject  of  this  biography — at  first 
settled  near  each  other  ;  but  the  uncle  removed  into 
Canada,  while  the  father  remained  in  the  United  States. 
A  friendly  feeling,  however,  still  existed  between  them  al  - 
though  they  differed  upon  the  subject  of  loyalty  to  Great 
Britain.  This  became  manifest  during  after  life  in  the 
training  of  the  children. 

A.n  incident  is  reported  of  young  Grant  while  yet  a 
child.  His  father  held  him  in  his  arms  at  his  cottage  door 
on  the  anniversary  of  Independance  day  in  1823.  The 
child  was  just  able  to  talk,  and  was  pleased  with  the  ex- 
citement around.  A  boy  came  along  with  a  loaded  pistol 
in  his  hand,  and  asked  the  father  to  let  him  discharge  the 
weapon,  to  see  how  the  child  would  stand  the  report.  The 
pistol  was  duly  fired,  and  instead  of  alarming  the  little 
fellow,  he  clapped  his  hands  and  appeared  to  enjoy  it.  He 
even  seemed  anxious,  by  his  simple  words,  that  the  boy 
should  fire  again,  and  fire  again  he  did.  A  by-stander  re- 
marked that  the  infant  would  one  day  become  a  great  sol- 
dier ;  and  the  inadvertent  observation  has  certainly  been 
proved  a  true  prophecy. 

During  the  fall  of  1823  the  father  of  Ulysses  removed 
from  Mount  Pleasant  to  Georgetown,  the  capital  of  Brown 
County,  Ohio.  At  this  time  the  village  was  in  a  crude 
state  ;  but  as  it  was  in  the  midst  of  a  rich  farming  dis- 
trict it  held  out  many  prospects  for  industrious  and 
economical  farmers.  In  this  village  young  Grant  spent 
his  earlier  days,  and  there  he  obtained  the  rudiments  of 
his  education  at  the  village  school. 

Young  Grant  was   considered  anything  but  a  smart 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT.  19 

scholar — lie  was  rather  inclined  to  be  dull  ;  but  he  was 
never  known  to  give  up  a  task  if  there  appeared  the  slight- 
est chance  of  conquering  it.  On  one  occasion  he  is  said  to 
have  been  puzzled  about  tne  meaning  of  the  word  "  can't," 
which  one  of  his  fellow  scholars  had  applied  to  his  attempt 
to  learn  his  lesson, 

«  You  can't  do  it,"  said  the  boy. 

"  Can't,"  said  Grant,  then  about  ten  years  ot  age, 
"  what  do  you  mean  by  '  can't  ?'  " 

"  Well,"  returned  the  other,  "  I  mean  you  can't,  and 
that  is  what  I  mean," 

Grant  was  puzzled  at  the  definition  far  more  than  by 
the  first  expression,  and  he  made  up  his  mind  that  he 
would  find  out  something  about  the  word.  He  searched 
the  old  dictionary,  but  the  word  was  not  in  the  volume. 
He  went  to  his  teacher  and  asked  him  the  meaning  of  it, 
as  he  "  did  not  find  it  in  the  dictionary." 

The  the  teacher  was  pleased  with  the  perseverance  of 
the  otherwise  considered  dull  boy ;  and  readily  explained 
that,  as  the  expression  was  a  corruption  of  the  word 
"  cannot,"  he  was  not  surprised  at  his  not  finding  it.  Be- 
ing a  practical  man,  the  teacher  saw  an  opportunity  of 
making  scholastic  capital  out  of  the  event,  and  he  at  once 
delivered  a  short  lecture  to  the  pupils,  ending  with  the  re- 
mark. "  if  in  the  course  of  your  future  lives,  you  should  be 
engaged  in  honorable  but  laborious  duties,  and  your  oppo- 
nents should  say  « you  can't  do  this,  or  you  cant  do  that,' 
let  your  reply  be  in  the  words  of  your  fellow  scholar 
Grant, 

«  Can't  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  dictionary.'  " 

During  the  whole  of  his  life  up  to  the  time  of  writing 
this  biography,  Ulysses  S.  Grant  has  demonstrated  the 


20  THE  LIFE  OP 

fact  that  he  has  not  been  able  to  find  the  word  "  can't." 
When  pursuing  any  given  object  however  difficult,  if  any 
one  said  to  him  "  that  can't  be  done,"  he  would  promptly 
reply,  "  can't  is  not  in  the  dictionary,"  and  would  continue 
his  pursuit  with  an  eagerness  and  pertinacity  truly  remark- 
able. 

While  a  boy  at  school  Grant's  father  sent  him,  on  one 
occasion,  to  get  a  log  of  wood  out  of  the  timber-land,  and 
gave  him  charge  of  a  horse  and  team  to  bring  the  log 
home.  He  expected  his  son  would  find  men  enough  on 
the  ground  to  assist  him  load  the  cart.  On  arriving  at 
the  spot  young  Grant  found  the  men  all  gone  ;  and  yet  he 
did  not  like  to  return  to  his  father  without  the  log.  It 
was  too  heavy  for  him  t)  lift,  and  the  question  how  to  get 
the  log  home  became  a  serious  one  for  the  boy.  By  dint 
of  great  personal  effort  he  raised  one  end  of  the  log  until 
it  rested  on  a  stump  about  the  height  of  the  cart.  He 
then  backed  the  cart  until  it  acted  as  a  kind  of  fulcrum 
under  the  log,  and  thus  gradually  but  surely  he  worked 
the  log  into  the  cart  and  brought  it  home.  This  ingenui- 
ty and  perseverance  in  so  young  a  child,  although  trifling 
in  itself,  certainly  gave  promise  of  what  the  man  would 
be. 

On  another  occasion,  Grant  was  sent,  when  alout 
twelve  years  old,  to  make  a  horse  trade  for  his  father. 
His  father  told  him  to  get  the  horse  if  possible. 

"  Offer  him,"  said  the  old  gentleman  to  his  son,  "  first 
fifty  dollars,  then  fifty-five,  and  if  he  will  not  take  that 
you  may  give  him  sixty  dollars  for  the  horse.  But  bring 
the  beast  home." 

Off  started  young  Grant  full  of  business.     On  arriving 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON   GRANT.  21 

at  the  house  of  the  owner^of  the  horse,  he  explained  his 
errand,  when  the  seller  at  once  naturally  asked, 

"  What  price  did  your  father  say  you  ought  to  give  for 
the  horse  ?'' 

"  Father  told  me,"  replied  the  boy,  "  that  I  was  to 
offer  you  first  fifty,  then  fifty-five,  and  finally  sixty  dollars 
for  the  horge." 

Of  course  the  horse  was  "  sixty  dollars  and  no  less" 

"  I  supposed  so,"  said  young  Grant.  "  But  on  looking 
at  the  animal  I  am  convinced  it  is  not  worth  more  than 
fifty  dollars,  and  I  am  willing  to  give  you  that,  but  no 
more.  If  you  like  to  let  me  have  the  horse,  all  right ;  if 
not,  well,  I  will  go  without." 

Grant  was  obstinate  and  finally  succeeded ;  riding  home 
on  his  fifty  dollar  horse. 

The  fact  of  the  two  brothers  differing  oa  the  question  of 
loyalty  to  Great  Britain  has  before  been  alluded  to,  and 
in  their  sons  this  difference  was  plainly  demonstrated. 
The  Canadian  Grant  had  a  sou  named  John,  who  was  sent 
to  the  same  school  with  Ulysses.  These  cousins  would  oc- 
casionally get  into  a  discussion  on  the  divine  right  of 
kings,  and  the  right  of  revolution.  These  arguments  were 
all  carried  on  in  good  part,  each  maintaining  his  own 
opinion,  until  one  day,  the  Canadian  remarked  that  he 
considered  Washington  "  nothing  more  than  a  rebel." 

"  Come,  Jack,"  said  Grant "  That  won't  do.  You  must 
not  call  Washington  ill  names.  It  is  true  mother  tells 
me  I  must  not  fight ;  nor  will  I  on  my  own  account. 
Abuse  me  as  much  as  you  like,  but  if  you  abuse  Washing- 
ton, I'll  off  coat  and  flog  you,  if  you  were  ten  times  my 


22  THE   LIFE   OP 

cousin.     And  then  mother  may  thrash  me  as  much  as  she 

pleases." 

Jack  was  obstinate  in  his  assertion,  and  the  consequence 
was  that  Grant  gave  his  cousin  a  thorough  beating ;  al- 
though he  did  not  himself  escape  without  a  few  marks  of 
the  contest.  When  Grant  returned  home,  his  mother  at 
once  discovered  what  he  had  been  about. 

"  So,  sir,"  said  she, "  in  spite  of  all  my  warning  you  have 
been  fighting." 

Grant  explained  to  her  without  addition  to  or  suppres- 
sion of  facts,  the  whole  cause  of  the  trouble.  The  good 
mother,  determined  to  have  her  precepts  practiced,  pre- 
pared to  administer  to  her  son  the  chastisement  she  had 
promised,  when  the  boy's  father  stepped  between  them, 
and  good-naturedly  asked  to  be  heard. 

"  I  tell  thec  what  it  is,  wife,"  said  he,  « the  boy  does  not 
deserve  to  be  punished.  He  has  only  defended — as  was 
his  duty — the  honor  of  the  name  of  Washington;  and 
mark  me,  the  boy  that  will  risk  punishment  in  such  a  cause, 
will  rise  to  be  a  great  man,  and  a  Christian  too. 

The  appeal  of  the  father  had  some  weight  with  the 
mother,  and  young  Ulysses  was  let  off  with  only  a  repri- 
mand. In  after  years  the  cousins  again  met  and  in  review- 
ing their  past  lives,  the  Canadian  asked  Grant  if  he  recol- 
lected the  event  of  the  school  days,  and  the  thrashing  he 
had  administered. 

«  Yes,"  said  Grant,  "  and  I  will  do  it  again,  if  you  give 
me  the  same  provocation." 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON   GRANT,  23 

CHAPTER  II. 

GRANT   AS   A  CADET. 

How  he  entered  West  Point  Military  Academy — What  he  there  Learned 
— How  he  obtained  peace  among  his  Companions—"  Company  Grant  " — His 
Graduation,  tfc. 

When  Grant  had  passed  from  boyhood  into  that  period 
of  life  verging  toward  manhood,  he  began  to  wish  for 
something  more  elevated  than  the  simple  life  of  a  farmer. 
He  also  desired  a  better  education.  But  how  to  get  it 
was  the  question.  He  had  turned  his  sixteenth  year  and 
yet  his  prospects  were  far  from  being  what  he  desired,  and 
te  felt  dissatisfied. 

On  one  occasion  he  was  heard  to  express  a  desire  to  en- 
ter West  Point — the  Military  Academy  of  the  United 
States.  Some  friends  of  the  aspiring  youth,  being  desirous 
to  assist  so  noble  a  wish,  made  known  his  case  to  General 
Thomas  H.  Haraer,  who  was  then  a  mainber  of  Congress 
from  Ohio.  The  general  inquired  relative  to  the  merits 
of  the  applicant— his  qualifications  and  wishes.  On  being 
told  that  his  merits  lay  in  the  determination  to  rise,  and 
his  wishes  to  succeed,  the  old  general  said  they  were  qual- 
ifications enough  for  him,  and  he  should  have  the  cadetship 
if  it  could  be  got.  The  general  succeeded  in  obtaining  the 
appointment,  and  young  Grant  entered  the  Military  acad- 
emy during  the  year  1839.  Colonel  Delufield,  now  Gen- 
eral and  Engineer-in-chief  of  the  United  States  armies, 
was  then  Superintendent  of  the  Military  Academy. 

The  young  cadet  did  not  display  any  very  great  amount 
of  ths  dashing  brilliancy  which  at  that  time  was  charac- 
teristic of  the  West  Point  cadets.  Certain  outside  polish 


24  THE   LIFE   OP 

would  carry  a  student  to  the  head  of  his  class  and  keep 
him  there  until  he  graduated ;  but  after  he  entered  the 
army  he  would  be  found  far  inferior  to  those  who  had 
graduated  lower.  This  has  been  most  remarkably  demon- 
strated during  the  war  of  the  rebellion  ;  some  who  have 
graduated  lower  than  others  at  West  Point,  having  risen 
far  above  their  classmates  when  in  the  army. 

Cadet  Grant  went  in  for  solid  learning.  He  never  at- 
tempted to  "  cram"  himself,  merely  to  pass  an  examina 
tion;  but  what  he  did  learn  was  retained  with  the  perti- 
nacity of  his  race.  He  never  forgot  what  he  was  thor- 
oughly made  acquainted  with ;  and  never  allowed  the 
word  "  can't"  to  stop  him  if  he  determined  to  master  any- 
thing. 

Grant,  having  submitted  to  a  thorough  medical  examin- 
ation as  to  his  fitness  to  become  a  soldier,  and  been 
approved,  was  placed  in  the  fourth  class  of  the  academy. 
Here  he  had  to  perform  the  duties  similar  to  those  of  a 
private  in  the  army,  to  learn  the  manual  of  arms,  and  all 
the  tactics  of  an  infantry  soldier.  As  the  cadets  live  in 
tents  during  the  summer,  tli3  duties  were  laborious.  His 
mind  was  not  neglected,  for  he  had  to  study  French  and 
English  grammer,  geography — especially  of  the  United 
States,  composition,  declamation,  rhetoric,  mathematics, 
etc.  These  studies  lasted  until  the  summer  of  1840. 

It  was  during  this  interval  that  Grant  first  acquired  his 
notoritey  at  West  point  and  gained  for  himself  the  soubri- 
quet of  "  Company  Grant."  As  a  new  coiner  in  the  In- 
stitution he  naturally  became  the  sport  of  the  old  hands — 
his  seniors.  Several  practical  jokes  were  played  upon  him, 
and  some  of  a  very  serious  character.  He  endured  them 
for  some  time,  with  but  an  occasional  murmur  ;  until  at  last 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON   GRANT.  25 

he  was  determined  to  put  a  stop  to  them  at  once  and  {for 
ever.  The  occasion  taken  advantage  of  by  Grant  waa 
when  the  cadets  were  out  on  a  parade.  It  appears  the 
officer  in  charge — a  fellow  cadet,  but  ranking  as  captain — 
played  a  ridiculous  practical  joke  on  young  Grant ;  one 
that  he  was  determined  to  resent.  Stepping  out  of  the 
ranks,  Grant  said  : — 

"  Now,  captain,  will  you  drop  your  rank  for  a  few  min- 
utes, and  stand  up  fair  and  square  ?  If  so,  we  will  see  who 
is  the  best  man." 

Of  course,  the  captain,  for  the  honor  of  his  courage,  had 
to  accept  the  challenge ;  and  off  went  jackets,  and  soon  the 
cadets  were  engaged.  In  a  short  time  Grant  was  victo- 
rious—the captain  being  soundly  flogged. 

Turning  to  the  next  officer  in  charge,  Grant  said  : — 

"  It  is  your  turn  now,  lieutenant,  to  revenge  the  captain 
if  you  can." 

A  few  minutes  decided  the  contest,  and  the  second  officer 
was  placed  hors  du  combat.  Grant  turning  to  his  com- 
panions in  the  line  inquired  eagerly:  — 

"Who  is  next?  I  want  peace  ;  1  am  willing  to  fight 
for  it ;  all  the  company,  if  necessary  one  by  one.  I  have 
no  ill-will  against  any  one  ;  but  I  must  and  will  have  peace 
in  the  future." 

A  shout  soon  gave  evidence  of  the  appreciation  with 
which  his  gallant  conduct  was  viewed.  He  had  demon- 
strated that  he  possessed  the  pluck  to  resist  aggression,  and 
his  companions  needed  nothing  more  to  prevent  them  from 
playing  any  further  tricks  upon  him.  They  eagerly  came 
forward  and  offered  their  hands  in  token  of  amity. 

"  You'll  do"  said  the  captain,  although  smarting  under 
his  defeat. 


26  THE    LIFE    OP 

"  All  right,  Grant"  said  his  companions  "  We  will  not 
bother  you  any  more.  You  are  a  plucky  fellow  and  will 
make  your  way." 

And  amid  such  remarks  Grant  retook  his  place  in  the 
line.  He  made  no  boast  of  his  success,  but  was  not  again 
troubled  with  practical  jokes ;  and  his  companions,  in 
honor  of  the  event,  dubbed  him  with  the  title  of  "  Company 
Grant." 

During  the  summer  of  1840  Grant  passed  his  examina- 
tion, and  entered  the  third  class.  It  must  be  understood 
that,  although  a  large  number  of  cadets  'enter  the  fourth 
class,  a  far  less  number  rise  to  the  higher  ones — many 
leaving  the  institution,  as  unqualified,  after  passing  their 
first  examination. 

While  Grant  was  a  member  of  the  third  class  he  was 
selected  as  one  of  the  corporals  of  the  batallion.  He 
also  entered  upon  the  duties  of  a  cavalry  private,  which 
is  considered  a  degree  higher  than  infantry.  For  sixteen 
weeks  he  studied  horsemanship,  the  rest  of  the  time  being 
employed  in  the  study  of  mathematics,  French,  draw- 
ing, &c.,  and  with  his  infantry  duties.  In  horsemanship 
he  progressed  rapidly,  and  he  is  now  reputed  as  fine  a 
rider  as  any  in  the  service.  In  his  other  studies  he  also 
progressed — slowly,  it  is  true,  but  none  the  less  surely — 
and  at  the  examination  of  the  summer  of  1841,  he  passed 
readily  into  the  second  class. 

The  studies  of  the  second  class  were  far  more  arduous 
and  laborious  than  any  he  had  yet  undertaken.  During 
the  fall  of  1841,  the  winter  of  1841-2,  and  the  spring 
1842,  he  was  engaged  in  the  mastery  of  chemistry,  draw- 
ing, natural  and  experimental  philosophy,  and  other 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT.  27 

sciences,  as  well  as  in  the  practice  of  horsemanship  ;  and 
in  the  summer  months  of  both  18-11  and  1842,  he  per- 
fected his  drill  in  infantry  tactics,  and  began  the  study  of 
artillery  manoeuvres  in  the  field. 

While  in  the  second  class,  young  Grant  was  selected 
to  act  as  sergeant  of  cadets.  This  gave  him  some  know- 
ledge of  the  metho  :  of  keeping  company  rolls,  orders, 
and  other  papers  belonging  to  the  command  ;  and  enabled 
him  to  acquire  a  system  of  order  which  has  since  been  so 
valuable  to  him.  At  the  end  of  the  term  he  was  compli- 
mented, and  passed  his  examination  with  credit. 

During  July  1842,  Cadet  Grant  entered  the  first  class 
at  West  Point,  to  study  those  lessons,  which  are  sometimes 
the  most  difficult— the  proper  way  to  command.  After  he 
had  been  in  the  class  for  a  short  time  he  was  selected  as 
one  of  the  commissioned  officers  of  the  batallion.  He 
is  reputed  never  to  have  abused  the  power  entrusted  to 
him  ;  and  yet  to  command  the  respect  and  obedience  of 
all  under  him. 

The  studies  attached  to  the  first  class  are  scientific  as 
well  as  practical,  During  the  colder  months  of  the  year, 
which  extends  from  July  1st  to  June  30th,  he  studied 
civil  and  military  engineering  ;  and  in  the  spring  of  1843 
took  practical  lessons  in  the  field.  Nor  were  these  all 
his  studies — ethics  ;  constitutional,  international  and  mil- 
itary laws;  mineralogy;  geology;  and  the  Spanish  lan- 
guage had  all  to  be  mastered,  to  enable  him  to  graduate 
with  honor.  He  had  also  to  acquire  the  practical  know- 
ledge of  the  art  of  gunnery,  cavalry  tactics  and  ordnanc, 
and  other  branches  of  field  service  ;  and  to  take  his  final 
lessons  in  horsemanship.  In  some  of  these  studies  Grant 


28  THE   LIFE   OP 

became  an  adept ;  but  in  others  he  did  not  succeed  as  well. 
He,  however,  passed  his  examination  with  credit  if  not 
with  the  first  honors;  and  on  the  30th  of  June,  186-3. 
.  graduated  about  the  middle  of  his  class,  on  the  same  day 
with  Generals  Franklin,  Rajnolds,  Quinby,  Peck,  J.  J. 
Reynolds,  Hardie,  Augur,  C.  S.  Hamilton,  Steele,  Ingalls, 
Judah,  and  other  officers  of  lesser  degree  in  the  Union 
Service ;  and  Generals  French  and  Gardner  of  the  Rebel 
army. 

When  a  West  Point  cadet  graduates,  it  is  considered  he 
is  fitted  to  superintend,  or  take  his  part  in  any  and  all  the 
branches  of  the  military  service.  He  is  supposed  to  be 
•well  instructed  in  the  nse  of  the  rifled  musket  ;  the  field 
piece — light  and  heavy  ;  mortar,  seige  and  seacoast  guns  ; 
small  sword,  sabre  and  bayonet ;  in  the  construction  of 
field  works,  and  in  the  formation  of  all  the  material  and 
munitions  used  in  war.  Ho  is  also  expected  to  be  well 
versed  in  the  sciences  and  to  be  thoroughly  proficient  in 
a-11  ordinary  education  of  civillife.  He  is  further  taught  to 
be  gentlemanly  and  a  man  of  honor — hence  the  phrase, 
which  is  always  accepted,  "on  the  honor  of  a  gentle- 
man and  a  soldier." 

Having  graduated,  it  is  the  duty  of  a  cadet  to  serve  a 
a  certain  time — about  four  years — in  the  United  States 
Army  ;  the  country  requiring  that  service  as  a  recompense 
for  the  instruction  given  him  at  West  Point.  During 
peace,  however,  this  has  not  been  exacted  of  all  the  cadets ; 
many  of  them  having  entered  upon  civil  pursuits  almost 
as  soon  as  they  had  left  the  Academy.  Yet  they  can 
hardly  be  said  to  have  been  of  no  service  to  the  country  ; 
for  it  was  under  the  direction,  care  and  superintend- 
ence of  some  of  our  West  Point  cadets  that  the  mighty  lines 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT.  29 

of  railroad  that  cross  and  recross  this  continent  have  been 
constructed  ;  while  others  have  had  charge  of  educational 
institutions  and  have  even  taken  high  positions  in  the 
church. 


CHAPTER    III, 

GRANT    AS   A    SOLDIER. 

Enters  the  Army — Services  in  Missouri,  and  Texas — the  Mexican  War, 
Brevets — Oregon — Promotions — Resignation,  $-c. 

Grant  when  he  graduated  was  appointed  to  the  infantry 
service  of  the  United  States  Army,  with  the  bevet  rank 
of  Second  Lieutenant.  On  the  1st  of  July  1843,  he  en- 
tered upon  his  new  duties  and  became  attached  to  the 
Fourth  Regiment  of  Regulars  ;  and  was  ordered  to  the 
West  to  keep  down  the  Indians  on  the  Missouri  Frontier. 
He  was  also  engaged  in  superintending  the  opening  up  of 
that  country,  then  almost  a  wilderness. 

The  region  of  territory  north  of  Mexico,  and  adjoining 
the  State  of  Louisiana,  having  declared  its  independance 
of  that  country,  the  United  States  authorities  determined 
to  assisjjthe  revolutionists  by  sending  an  army  to  the  fron- 
tier. This  naturally  led  to  an  advance,  and  on  the  1st  of 
March,  18#5,  the  "Lone  Republic  of  Texas"  was  an- 
nexed to  the  United  States.  It  may  naturally  be  supposed 
that  this  annexation  would  be  resisted  by  Mexico;  and 
threats  were  uttered  that  Texas  should  be  again  attached 
to  that  country  by  force  of  arms.  To  resist  such  a  move- 
ment was  the  object  of  the  United  States  Government, 
at  the  time  when  it  sent  an  army  into  Texas  under  Gen-  i 
eral  Taylor. 


30  THE   LIFE   OP 

For  some  time  an  imaginary  line  had  divided  the  Amer- 
ican from  the  Mexican  part  of  Texas ;  but  after  a  short 
interval  this  became  useles — first  one  side  and  then  the 
other  overstepping  their  boundary.  This  naturally  led  to 
disputes,  quarrels,  individual  strife,  and  bloodshed.  Thus 
began  the  war  with  Mexico. 

The  U.  S.  forces  having  taken  possesson  of  Corpus 
Christi,  a  port  of  Texas,  the  place  was  at  once  garrisoned ; 
and  Grant  was  stationed  there,  with  a  portion  of  the  rigi- 
ment  to  which  he  was  attached.  While  at  this  post  he  re- 
ceived his  commission  as  full  Second  Lieutenant  of  In- 
fantry, under  date  of  September  30th,  1845,  and  he  was 
transferred  and  attached  to  the  Seventh  Regulars.  This 
transfer  to  another  regiment  did  not,  apparently,  please 
Grant,  as  the  official  records  state  that  during  the  following 
November  he  was  re-transferred  to  the  Fourth  Regiment 
of  Regular  Infantry,  with  the  rank  of  Second  Lieutenant. 

The  disputes  before  spoken  of,  gradually  ripened  into  a 
severe  struggle,  without  bringing  on  actual  war,  until 
General  Taylor  discovered,  during  the  spring  of  1846, 
that  a  large  forae  of  Mexicans  was  about  to  cross  the  Rio 
Grande,  for  the  purpose  of  wresting  Texas  from  the  grasp 
of  the  United  States.  This  decided  General  Taylor  as  to 
his  movements ;  and  promptly  he  prepared  to  resist  the  ad- 
vance of  the  enemy.  In  the  meantime  Fort  Brown,  a 
work  constructed  by  the  U.  S.  troops  on  the  American  side 
of  the  RioGrande,  was  invested  by  the  Mexicans  ;  and,  al- 
though gallantly  defended,  must  have  fallen,  had  not  Gen- 
eral Taylor  come  to  the  assistance  of  the  garrison.  This 
movement  of  the  United  States  forces  brought  Grant  upon 
his  first  battle-field. 

The  battle  of  Palo  Alto  took  place  on  May  8th,  ISoG, 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON   GRANT.  31 

and  was  the  preliminary  action  which  led  the  repulse  of 
the  Mexicans  from  Texas.  The  following  day  witnessed 
the  battle  of  Resaca  de  la  Palma,  and  in  both  of  these  ac- 
tions Lieutenant  Grant  distinguished  himself  for  his  bra- 
very. It  is  true,  he  gained  no  brevets,  as  he  was  merely 
a  subaltern,  and  naturally  the  commander  of  his  company 
received  the  honors.  He  was,  however,  very  well  spoken 
of  in  the  company  reports. 

The  Mexicans  were  driven  across  the  Rio  Grande,  Fort 
Brown  was  relieved  and  the  guns  of  that  work  added  to 
the  disorder  of  the  enemy's  ranks,  as  they  fled  from  before 
the  victorious  forces  of  General  Taylor.  The  Americans 
then  advanced  up  the  Rio  Grande,  and  Lieutenant  Grant 
participated  in  the  military  operations,  assisting  in  the 
advance  into  the  Territory  of  New  Leon,  Mexico. 

Steadily  the  Americans  advanced  until  they  came  be- 
fore Monterey,  and  the  Mexicans  made  a  decisive  stand 
behind  strong  works.  General  Taylor  was  not  a  man  to 
be  held  back  by  armed  walls ;  and  in  this  he  has  been 
nobly  imitated  by  the  present  commanding  general  of  the 
United  States  Army.  Taylor  resolved  to  drive  the  enemy 
from  their  fortifications,  and  he  made  a  determined  assault 
upon  the  place.  The  city  was  to  be  carried  by  storm,  and 
many  a  gallant  officer  bit  the  dust.  Lieutenant  Grant 
nobly  did  his  duty  during  the  assult,  leading  his  section 
with  a  gallantry  and  fearlessness  of  death  that  has  charac- 
terized all  his  subsequent  career.  Monterey  was  finally 
taken  ;  and  the  victory  ended  the  campaign  in  the  northern 
part  of  Mexico. 

A  very  interesting  incident  is  told  of  the  young  lieuten- 
ant's conduct  during  this  campaign.  A  party  of  Americana 
had  been  hemmed  in  by  a  much  superior  force  of  Mexicans, 


32  THE  LIFE  OP 

in  the  city  of  Monterey,  and  there  was  every  danger,  not 
only  of  their  capture,  but  of  their  annihilation.  A  volun- 
teer was  called  for  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  the  enemy,  and 
clear  the  town,  in  order  to  bring  succor  to  the  party. 
Lieutenant  Grant  offered  his  services ;  and  as  he  was  re- 
puted to  be  the  best  rider  in  the  command  his  offer  was  ac- 
cepted. A  fleet  horse  was  procured ;  and,  unhurt,  he  cut 
his  way  through  the  Mexicans,  and  reached  the  ranks  of  his 
friends  outside  the  city.  In  a  short  time  he  returned  with 
the  desired  reinforcements,  and  the  hemmed-in  garrison 
was  speedily  rescued  from  their  dangerous  as  well  as  un- 
comfortable position. 

The  declaration  of  war  by  the  United  States  Congress, 
inaugurated  a  more  decisive  system  of  warfare  in  Mexico, 
and  General  Scott  was  placed  in  chief  command  of  the 
army.  The  base  of  operations  was  changed  from  Texas 
and  the  Rio  Grande  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  the  more 
northern  movement  was  to  some  extent  abandoned.  Gen- 
eral Scott  effected  a  landing  in  Mexico  above  Vera  Cruz, 
and  the  majority  of  the  Rio  Grande  forces  were  transfered 
to  the  command  of  that  officer.  The  regiment  in  which 
Lieutenant  Grant  served  formed  part  of  the  forces  thus 
removed,  and  he  participated  in  the  siege  operations  under 
which  Yera  Cruz  was  finally  surrendered  on  March  29th, 
1849. 

Lieutenant  Grant,  heretofore  kept  in  the  background  by 
his  position,  began  now  to  enter  upon  a  new  career.  It 
was  discovered  that  he  possessed  talents  of  more  than  the 
ordinary  kind,  and  he  was,  during  April,  1847,  selected 
to  act  as  quartermaster  of  his  regiment.  To  supply  a  regi- 
ment in  a  strange  country,  with  the  enemy  on  every  side, 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT.  33 

was  a  duty  of  no  mean  importance  ;  and  in  choosing  Grant 
for  that  office,  showed  an  appreciation,  by  his  seniors,  of 
his  power  to  perform  the  duties  belonging  thereto.  With 
this  positioa  he  served  through  the  remainder  of  the  war, 
although  he  did  not  confine  himself  entirely  to  the  routine 
of  that  part  of  the  service — his  brave  disposition  requiring 
him,  at  times,  to  take  part  in  the  more  serious  operations 
of  the  campaign.  The  duties  of  the  quartermaster's  de 
partment  did  not  call  upon  him  to  enter  into  the  actual 
strife ;  but  when  Grant  found  his  services  could  be  made 
valuable  in  the  field,  he  never  hesitated  to  give  them  to 
the  country  even  at  the  risk  of  his  life. 

The  next  battle  in  which  Grant  took  a  prominent  part 
was  at  El  Molino  del  Key,  on  the  8th  of  September  1847. 
Here  he  fought  with  a  marked  gallantry,  and  was  promoted 
on  the  field  to  the  rank  of  first  lieatenant  of  infantry,  to 
date  from  the  day  of  that  battle.  Congress  wished  mere- 
ly to  confer  a  brevet  upon  him  for  that  battle  ;  but  he  de- 
clined it  on  special  grounds. 

At  the  battle  of  Chapultepec  on  September  13,  1847, 
Grant  again  distinguished  himself  by  his  gallantly 
With  a  few  men  of  the  Fourth  United  States  Infantry  he 
succeeded,  after  a  strong  resistance,  in  carrying  a  strong 
field  work  of  the  enemy,  and  also  in  turning  their  right 
wing.  The  conflict  was  short  but  sharp.  The  men  suc- 
ceeded in  mounting  a  howitzer  on  the  top  the  convent, 
and  under  the  direction  of  Lieutenant  Grant  the  enemy 
was  considerably  annoyed  during  the  conflict.  The  bril- 
liant conduct  of  Grant  called  forth  high  eulogisms  from 
all  his  senior  officers  in  their  official  reports. 

During  the  subsequent  contests,  which  finally  resulted  in 


34  THE  LIFE  OP 

the  capture  of  the  city  of  Mexico,  Lieutenant  Grant  contin- 
ued to  manifest  that  high  order  of  gallantry  which  had 
characterized  all  his  operations  from  the  commencement  of 
the  campaign. 

When  the  congress  of  the  United  States  met  in  session 
in  the  winter  of  1849-50,  the  President  sent  in  the  name 
of  Ulyses  8.  Grant  for  promotion  to  the  rank  of  First 
Lieutenant  of  infantry  to  date  from  September  16th,  1847, 
with  brevets  of  First  Lieutenant  and  Captain  to  date 
from  September  8th  and  13th,  respectively,  for  gallant 
and  meritorious  conduct  at  ElMolino  delRey  and  Chapul- 
tepec.  During  the  executive  session  of! 850  these  appoint- 
ments were  all  duly  confirmed. 

After  the  war  in  Mexico  had  been  concluded  and  the 
troops  withdrawn,  Lieutenant  Grant  returned  to  New 
York  with  the  remnant  of  the  gallant  regiment  to  which 
he  belonged.  For  a  time  it  remained  as  a  garrison  for  the 
Northern  defences,  with  the  object  of  recruiting  its  strength 
and  numbers,  as  well  as  resting  from  the  fatigues  of  an  ar- 
duous campaign  in  a  sickly  country. 

The  regiment  having  again  become  somewhat  increased 
in  strength  and  vigor,  and  the  gold  fever  having  made  it 
necessary  that  troops  should  be  dispatched  to  the  auriferous 
regions  to  preserve  order,  keep  down  the  Indians,  and  pre- 
vent bloodshed  among  the  lawless  settlers,  the  Fourth 
Regiineni  of  United  States  Infantry  was  ordered  to  the 
Pacific  coast  for  the  purpose.  A  portion  of  the  Regiment 
was  stationed  in  California,  and  the  remainder  in  Oregon. 
In  this  latter  battallion,  Brevet  Captain  Grant  continued 
his  service,  and  for  a  time  the  headquarters  of  the  com- 
mand dwere  located  at  Fort  Dallas,  one  of  the  important 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT.  35 

posts  in  that  territory.  From  this  and  the  many  other 
military  posts,  the  troops  would  occasionally  sally  forth 
on  excursions  against  the  Indians,  and  in  more  than  one 
encounter  Grant  displayed  a  brilliancy  which  has  since 
been  developed  in  a  form  far  more  valuable  to  the  country. 

While  serving  in  Oregon  a  vacancy  existed  in  the  com- 
mand of  one  of  the  companies  of  his  regiment,  and  Grant 
was  selected  to  fill  it  with  the  rank  of  Captain  of  Infantry 
to  date  from  August  1st,  1853.  This  promotion  was  con- 
firmed during  the  session  of  Congress  of  1853-4. 

A  change  in  the  military  departments  of  the  United 
States  caused  Captain  Grant  'and  his  command  to  be  at- 
tached to  the  Department  of  the  West,  which  at  that  time 
embraced  all  the  country  from  the  Missouri  River  to  the 
Pacific.  Captain  Grant,  who  had  been  for  some  time  a 
married  man,*  having  become  of  the  opinion  that  he  had 
rendered  sufficient  service  to  the  United  States  to  repay 
them  for  the  education  he  had  obtained  from  them,  and 
the  country  being  at  that  time  in  perfect  peace  with  all 
the  world,  determined  to  resign  the  service  and  devote 
himself  to  a  more  settled  life.  He  therefore  tendered  his 
resignation  to  the  War  Department,  and  on  July  31st, 
1854,  it  was  accepted,  and  Captain  Grant  left  his  military 
station  and  commenced  the  life  of  a  farmer. 

*  Grant  married  the  daughter  of  Mr.  P.  Dent,  a  resident  of  Missouri, 
and  a  man  kiglilj  esteemed  in  his  immediate  neighborhood. 


36  THE  LIFE  OP 

CHAPTER  IV. 

GRANT  AS  A  FARMER  AND    TANNER. 

Grant  on  his  farm. — The  cord-wood  dealer. — Collector  of  debts. — En- 
gaged in  the  leather  trade,  &c. 

The  retired  captain  now  commenced  a  new  and  far  dif- 
ferent career,  and  settled  upon  a  farm  in  the  vicinity  of 
St.  Louis,  Mo.  He  having  had  some  experience,  during 
his  youth,  in  the  management  of  a  farm,  lie  succeeded 
pretty  fairly  with  his  crops  ;  but  did  not  make  a  fortune 
or  even  save  money. 

As  the  winter  months  of  that  part  of  the  country  are 
generally  very  severe,  and  the  ground  covered  with  snow 
for  several  weeks,  Grant  employed  himself  in  felling  the 
timber  and  cutting  it  into  cord-wood.  When  sleighing 
was  good  he  would  load  his  sleigh — rough  and  rudely 
made — and  drive  his  team  with  the  load  of  cord-wood  to 
the  markets  at  Carondelet,  where  he  would  himself  sell  the 
wood  to  the  purchaser.  Many  a  load  of  wood  has  been 
purchased  at  Carondelet  by  persons  who  still  remember 
Grant  as  a  man  attired  in  an  old  felt  hat,  a  rough  bio  use 
coat,  and  his  pants  carelessly  tucked  into  his  boots.  His 
appearance  was  then  far  less  that  of  a  soldier  than  of  a 
sturdy,  honest  woodman — one  who  gained  his  living 
more  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow  than  the  exercise  of  his 
brain. 

Grant's  mode  of  living  while  on  his  farm  was  frugal  and 
hardy.  He  never  indulged  in  expensive  habits  or  plea- 
sures ;  his  wants,  apparently  being  of  the  most  simple 
character.  And  yet  in  spite  of  his  frugality  he  did  not 
succeed  at  farming — at  least,  he  "  made  no  money."  He 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT.  37 

was  noted  for  his  honorable  character — if  he  borrowed  any- 
thing, he  was  sure  to  repay  it  even  to  the  smallest  frac- 
tion. In  this  retired  manner  the  now  hero  of  his  country 
passed  part  of  his  life,  quiet  and  almost  unnoticed,  until 
the  year  1858. 

About  this  time  Grant  was  employed  by  some  of  the 
mercantile  houses  in  St.  Louis  to  collect  the  debts  then 
owing  to  those  firms.  In  this  he  was  not  more  successful 
than  at  farming—  perhaps  not  so  much.  His  great  fault 
lay  in  believing  all  that  was  told  him  by  the  debtors.  If 
the  individual  complained  of  distress,  and  an  inability  to 
pay,  Grant  at  once,  and  without  question,  believed  him. 
It  was  more  than  probable  that  he  would  not  trouble  the 
delinquent  again,  and  thus  he  was  many  times  imposed 
upon. 

Finding  after  at  time  that  he  was  not  fitted  for  a  "  dun'» 
Grant  gave  up  that  employment  and  began  others.  He  was 
always  engaged  at  something,  and  was  never  known  to  be 
idle,  yet,  strange  to  say,  he  did  not  seem  to  prosper.  But 
in  all  his  transactions  he  was  noted  for  his  candor  and 
truthfulness,  as  well  as  his  honesty. 

About  the  year  1859,  Grant  embarked  in  a  new  busi- 
ness, in  the  city  of  Galena,  Joe  Davies  County,  Illinois. 
This  city  had  been  the  seat  of  trade  for  the  extreme  West . 
the  traders  generally  travelling  by  the  Mississippi  River  to 
the  market.  In  Galena,  therefore,  Grant  established  him- 
self as  a  leather  merchant,  and  entered  in  partnership  with 
his  father.  The  firm  succeeded  ;  at  least  it  was  doing  a 
moderately  fair  business ;  and  the  house  became  somewhat 
well-known  to  the  frequenters  of  the  city  of  Galena. 

It  is  in  consequence  of  his  connection  with   the    leather 

461457 


38  THE  LIFE  °F 

trade  that  it  is  reported  of  him  that  "  he  knew  more  about 
tanning  leather  than  of  politics"  and  perhaps  there  is 
some  ground  for  this  statement,  as  it  is  not  known  that 
he  ever  took  part,  while  at  Galena,  in  any  political 
meeting  either  local  or  national. 

There  is  an  anecdote  told  of  Grant  that  when  he  was 
in  Galena,  some  local  politician  came  to  him  for  his  vote. 
Grant  replied  that  he  never  troubled  him/elf  with  elec- 
tions before  the  time  came  and  then  ho  voted  for  the 
one  he  thought  best  fitting  for  the  position,  no  matter  to 
what  party  he  might  belong. 

While  in  Galena,  Grant  made  the  acquaintance  of  a 
young  and  enterprising  lawyer,  named  Rawlins,  with  whom 
he -formed  a  friendship  which  has  since  been  more  closely 
maintained.  Oa  many  occasions  have  these  two  now  noted 
characters  spent  their  evenings  together  in  friendly  and 
social  intercourse — the  lawyer  admiring  the  plain  soldier, 
now  transformed  into  a  merchant,  and  Grant  becoming  in. 
terested  in  one  who  had  it  written,  as  it  were,  upon  his 
open  face,  the  character  of  an  honest  lawyer  and  a  rising 
man.  Thus  the  two  friends  became  acquainted,  and  as  com- 
mander and  principal  staff-officer  have  they  since  passed 
through  the  whole  war  together. 

An  anecdote  is  told  of  Grant  that  is  somewhat  connected 
with  his  leather  business,  that  is  good  enough  to  be  true — 
even  if  it  should  not  be  so  :-  - 

One  day  while  engaged  in  certain  duties  at  Springfield} 
Illinois,  connected  with  the  mustering  of  troops,  a  would- 
be  contractor  made  a  proposition  to  Grant — finding  he  had 
some  influence  with  the  State  Governor — to  obtain  for  him 
a  contract  for  the  supply  of  the  troops  with  clothing.  The 
offer  was  one  that,  apparently,  wjald  b 3  profitable  to  Grant 


ULYSSES   SIMFSOS   GRANT.  39 

if  he  took  sides  with  the  contractor  ;  but  on  the  former  in- 
quiring how  the  latter  could  undertake  such  a  contract 
with  what  appeared  to  Grant  to  be  an  actual  loss,  the  con- 
tractor began  to  explain  that  it  would  not  be  necessary  that 
Grant  should  examine  the  quality  of  the  clothing  sent  in, 
or  if  he  noticed  any  defects,  that  he  should  say  anything 
about  it  to  the  governor.  Grant  detected  the  attempt  to 
bribe  him  into  a  betrayal  of  his  trust,  and  shortly  after, 
the  contractor  moved  quickly  out  of  the  office,  his  locomo- 
tion being  somewhat  hurried,  owing  to  the  proximity  of  a 
square-toed  cavalry  boot  on  the  foot  of  the  indignant  mus- 
tering officer. 

"  There,"  said  Grant,  "  I  wonder  whether  that  fellow 
will  appreciate  the  leather  from  the  Galena  store.  I  never 
knew  it  fail  under  such  circumstances." 

It  is  said  the  contractor  has  since  tried  to  injure  the 
reputation  of  General  Grant  and  to  circulate  reports  of 
his  habits  of  intoxication  ;  "  for  none  but  an  idiot  or  an  in- 
ebriate would  have  refused  so  favorable  an  opportunity  of 
making  a  few  thousands,53  would  be  his  argument. 


CHAPTER  V. 

GRANT  AS   A   VOLUNTEER. 

Grant  Voluntccas — His  services  Refused — Mustering  Officer — How  he  be- 
came Colonel — Transportation  of  Tfoops  after  Grant's  Plan — How  to  Re- 
duce a  Mutinous  Regiment  to  Order — Services  in  Missouri,  ffc. 

The  news  of  the  uprising  of  the  South  spread  over  the 
whole  land,  with  an  electric  effect.  The  North  became  a 
unit  in  the  support  of  the  legitimate  Government ;  but  no 
effort  was  made  to  ceorce  the  Southerners,  until  after 


40  THE   LIFE   OP 

they  had  caused  the  reduction  of  Fort  Sumter,  and  the 
lowering  of  the  United  States  flag  from  over  one  of  the  na- 
tional defences.  President  Lincoln,  finding  that  menaces 
had  been  made,  relative  to  the  seizure  of  the  National 
Capital,  and  that  Maryland  and  Virginia  had  threatened 
to  secede,  thereby  placing  Washington  in  the  midst  of  an 
enemy's  country — issued  a  proclamation  calling  for  seven- 
ty-five thousand  volunteers  for  three  months,  and  three 
hundred  thousand  volunteers  for  three  years'  service,  to 
defend  the  same.  The  call  was  promptly  met.  Under  this 
call  Grant  presented  himself  to  Governor  Yates,  of  Illinois, 
and  offered  his  services.  He  was  introduced  and  accom- 
panied by  a  friend  of  the  Governor's  and  the  following 
dialogue  ensued  : 

"  Governor,"  said  the  friend,  "  allow  me  to  introduce 
to  you  Mr.  Grant,  of  Galena,  formerly  a  captain  in  the 
regular  army,  and  who  is  now  ready  to  offer  his  services 
to  you." 

"I  have  already  had  a  number  of  application?,"  said  the 
governor  "  for  commissions  in  the  army,  from  men  whom 
I  must  oblige,  and  at  present  I  have  no  vacancies  for  officers. 
Besides  I  do  not  know  Mr.  Grant,  nor  to  my  knowledge 
ever  heard  of  him. 

"  That  is  true,"  returned  the  friend,  "  he  has  never 
made  himself  prominent  in.  a  political  way,  but  as  he  has 
been  a  soldier,  and  desires  to  volunteer  his  services,  I 
thought  I  would  give  him  an  introduction." 

"  That  is  right,"  was  the  governor's  reply.  Then  turn- 
ing to  Grant  in  a  careless  way,  he  inquired  what  position 
he  desired  in  the  service — not  that  he  expected  to  find  a 
vacancy  for  him. 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON  GRANT.  41 

"  Any  position  will  suit  me,  so  that  I  can  serve  mj 
country,"  was  Grant's  reply. 

"  How  came  you  to  leave  the  service  ?"  was  the  gover- 
nor's inquiry. 

"  Well,"  returned  Grant,  "  I  WBS  educated  at  West 
Point,  and  graduated — entering  the  army  as  brevet  second 
lieutenant.  I  served  in  Mexico  and  gained  promotion  and 
two  brevets.  I  then  returned  to  the  United  States  and 
served  in  Oregon,  when  I  was  again  promoted.  I  had 
altogether  remained  in  the  army  eleven  years,  besides  the 
time  I  was  at  the  Military  Academy,  and  considering  that 
I  had  given  to  the  country  a  fair  return  for  the  education 
I  had  received,  I  resigned  the  service  and  enterel  upon 
civil  life.  But  the  country  is  now  in  danger,  and  I  am 
again  ready  to  give  my  services,  and  my  life,  if  necessary, 
in  defence  of  its  honor  and  flag." 

The  governor  replied  that  he  "  had  no  vacancy  at  pres- 
ent, but  would  take  down  his  name,  so  that  he  might  have 
it  if  needed."  With  this  poor  encouragement  Grant  left 
the  office  of  Governor  Yates. 

A  few  days  after  the  above  conversation  had  taken 
place  the  friend  called  upon  Governor  Yates,  in  his  office, 
and  found  him  perplexed  amid  a  multitude  of  document-!, 
applications,  muster  rolls,  &c  ; — in  fact  his  papers  present- 
ed a  perfect  chaos.  The  friend  inquired  how  the  Gov- 
ernor succeeded  as  "  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Illinois 
forces,"  and  whether  In  was  sending  many  troops  to  Wash- 
ington. The  Governor  replied  he  was  doing  his  best;  but 
he  understood  little  about  the  matter  and  was  greatly  per- 
plexed. Suddenly  he  turned  to  his  friend,  and  said : 

"By-the-bye,  what  has  become  of  that  queer  looking  man 


42  THE  LIFE   OP 

you  introduced  to  me  the  other  day ;  the  army  officer  I 
mean  ?" 

"What,  Grant?" 

"  Yes.  Do  you  think  he  would  undertake  this  duty  of 
mustering  in  troops  ?  Could  he  do  it  ?" 

"  I  have  no  doubt  he  could  do  it,  and  I  am  sure  he  is 
willing  to  do  that  or  anything  else  to  serve  his  country,  no 
matter  in  what  capacity." 

"  Well,  send  him  along  here.  Perhaps  I  may  be  able  to 
find  a  desk  in  my  office  for  him." 

Grant  promptly  obeyed  the  summons ;  and  accepted  the 
position  of  aide  on  the  Governor's  staff,  and  mastering  o!Ii- 
cer  of  Illinois  forces.  In  a  short  time,  order  was  restored, 
from  the  chaotic  mass  of  papers ;  and  under  Grant's 
superintendence  the  quota  of  Illinois  volunteers,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  three  months'  call,  was  speedily  filled. 
In  fact,  volunteers  offered  so  readily,  that  the  Government 
had  to  refuse  the  services  of  any  more  for  a  less  term  than 
two  years. 

About  this  time  the  three  years'  volunteers  were  enlisting 
and  were  officered  by  the  political  friends  of  the  State  Gov- 
ernors, without  regard  to  their  military  qualifications.  The 
consequence  was,  that  after  a  few  weeks  of  camp  life,  the 
officers  would  tire  of  their  duties ;  and  the  men,  never 
having  been  influenced  by  rigid  discipline,  would  rebel 
against  the  authority  of  those,  who  in  civil  life  were  often 
far  below  them  in  position  and  social  distinction. 

Such  a  case  as  this  occurred  about  June,  1861.  The 
Twenty-first  Regiment  of  Illinois  Volunteers  had  been  en- 
listed but  not  organized.  It  was  composed  of  a  body  of 
fine,  noble  fellows,  who  were  in  camp,  truly ;  but  the  con- 
dition and  morale  of  the  regiment,  as  such,  was  anything 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON  GRANT.  43 

but  promising.  In  fact  it  was  in  a  state  of  mutiny ;  and 
its  chief  commander — a  politician — had  no  control  at  all 
over  it.  Governor  Yates  asked  Grant  what  was  best  to 
do  with  it — retain  or  disband  it.  Grant  did  not  approve 
of  the  plan  of  dismissing  a  thousand  men  in  consequence 
of  the  inefficiency  of  their  officers.  He  recommended  that 
a  good  commander  should  be  placed  over  the  men,  and  he 
would  be  answerable  for  the  result.  The  Gfovernor  asked 
him  if  he  would  accept  the  command,  and  restore  order. 
As  Grant  had  placed  the  mustering  office  in  good  working 
condition  and  could  be  spared  from  its  actual  superintend- 
ence he  willingly  accepted  the  offer.  He  was,  therefore, 
commissioned  by  Governor  Yates  as  Colonel  of  the  21st 
Illinois  Volunteer  Regiment,  with  rank  dating  from  June 
15th,  1834;  and  he  promptly  entered  upon  the  duties  of 
that  position. 

A  change  was  observed  in  the  regiment  within  forty 
hours  from  the  time  Colonel  Grant  assumed  the  command. 
Discipline  was  demanded  and  enforced ;  and  when  the 
men  found  they  had  a  soldier,  and  not  a  politician,  to  deal 
with,  they  rendered  a  cheerful  obedience  to  his  wishes  and 
commands. 

About  two  days  after  Grant  had  taken  charge  of  the 
regiment,  a  request  was  sent  to  Governor  Yates  to  send  a 
regiment  to  the  Mississippi  river,  to  defend  the  border  of 
the  State  from  any  incursion  from  the  Missouri  Rebels. 
At  this  time  all  the  means  of  travel  had  been  taken  pos- 
session of  to  transport  troops  to  Washington  ;  and  Gov- 
ernor Yates  was  perplexed  how  to  obey  the  request. 
While  Grant  was  in  his  office,  the  Governor  had  been  in 
the  habit  of  referring  such  matters  to  him ;  but  he  was 
now  absent  in  camp  with  his  command.  At  last  the  Gov-  : 


44  THE   LIFE   OP 

ernor  resolved  to  visit  Grant  in  camp,  and  confer  with  him 
on  the  the  troublesome  question. 

"  Governor,"  said  Grant,  *«  why  not  send  my  regiment. 
It  is  ready  for  service." 

"  So  soon  ?''  inquired  the  Governor.  "  I  am  glad  of 
that ;  for  I  always  thought  the  men  were  sound.  But," 
continued  he,  "  that  will  not  relieve  me  of  my  dilemma.  I 
have  not  tho  moans  of  transportation,  and  the  distance  is 
over  a  hundred  miles." 

"  Leave  that  to  me,"  rdplied  Grant.  "  Shall  this  regi- 
ment go  ?  If  so,  I  will  provide  my  own  transportation." 

"  How  will  you  manage  that  ?"  inquired  the  Governor. 

"  March  the  men  the  whole  distance." 

«  But  can  they  do  it  ?" 

"  Certainly.  I  shall  march  at  their  head ;  and  where  I 
can  go  they  can  certainly  follow."  At  least,  give  me  the 
command  to  move,  and  in  one  hour  they  shall  be  on  the 
way."  , 

The  order  was  given  and  in  less  than  an  hour,  the  regi- 
ment was  marching  out  of  camp  near  Springfield,  en  route 
for  the  Mississippi  River. 

In  a  few  days  the  regiment  was  in  a  new  camp  at  Casey- 
ville,  a  few  miles  from  th^c  Mississippi  River,  and  nearly 
opposite  St.  Louis.  The  long  inarch  had  tamed  down  the 
turbulent  spirits,  and  made  the  men,  what  Grant  had 
prophesied  they  would  be,  "  good  soldiers."  A  short  time 
longer  in  camp,  and  they  were  deemed  fit  for  actual  ser- 
vice in  the  field.  They  were  therefore  sent  across  the 
river  to  protect  the  railroad  running  from  Hannibal  on  the 
Mississippi  River  to  Sc.  Joseph  on  the  Missouri  River 
near  the  Kansas  border.  This  line  was  important  for  the 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT.  45 

transportation  of  emigrants  and  troops  ;  it  being  a  branch 
of  the  main  through  line  to  the  far  West. 

To  enable  the  troops  to  become  inured  to  the  fatigues  of  a 
soldier's  life,  they  were  continually  marched  from  one  camp 
to  another,  until  on  July  31st,  1861,  Colonel  Grant  was 
placed  in  command  of  the  forces  at  Mexico,  a  station  of  the 
North  Missouri  Railroad,  a  line  connecting  St.  Louis  with 
the  railroad  heretofore  guarded  by  his  forces.  Shortly 
after,  the  command  was  marched  still  further  south  and 
was  stationed  at  Pilot  Knob,  Madison  County,  Missouri, 
Thence  the  men  marched  to  Ironton,  and  Marble  Creek, 
en  route  to  the  extreme  south-eastern  part  of  Missouri,  in 
which  the  roving  bands  of  rebels  had  taken  refuge  after 
having  been  driven  from  the  Northern  and  Eastern  coun- 
ties. 

These  movements  of  troops  and  small  skirmishes  occu- 
pied Grant  until  August  23d,  1801.  Up  to  this  time  there 
had  been  no  hard  fighting  in  those  districts  of  country 
occupied  by  Grant  and  his  regiment,  although  several  se- 
vere battles  had  taken  place  in  different  other  parts  of 
the  State  of  Missouri. 

As  it  was  clearly  demonstrated,  by  the  contests  that  had 
ah-eady  taken  place,  that  the  rebels  did  not  intend  to  give 
up  the  pretended  cause  without  a  struggle, -and  a  severe 
one,  the  Government  decided  to  appoint  a  number  of  prom- 
inent officers  to  the  rank  of  generals,  and  to  divide  the 
country  into  military  departments  and  distircts.  Among 
the  officers  chosen  to  fill  the  position  of  Brigadier-General 
was  Colonel  Ulysses  S.  Grant,  and  his  appointment  was 
confirmed  at  the  extra  session  of  Congress  of  1861,  with  a 
commission  dating  from  May  17,  1861.  There  were  thirty- 


46  THE   LIFE   OP 

four  Brigadier-Generals  commissioned  on  the  same  day  ; 
and  in  the  official  army  list  it  is  stated  that  Grant  occu- 
pied the  seventeenth  on  the  lineal  roll,  sixteen  outranking 
him  by  priority  of  confirmation.  Such  was  the  position  of 
affairs  on  August  23d,  1861. 

CHAPTER    VI. 


GRANT   AS   BRIGADIER-GENERAL. 

Commander  of  forces  at  C 'air  j—  Occupies  the  Kentucky  shore — Grant's 
unpretending  manners — Frederichtown — Edmont— Extension  of  command 
--Reconnaissance  in  force — Movement  upon  Fort  Henry— Fort  Donelson-- 
GranVs  immortal  words — How  Grant  became  an  abstainer,  Sfc. 

General  Grant  was  now  in  a  position  to  take  a  large  com- 
mand, and  consequently  was  appointed  to  one  suitable  to  J 
his  rank.     A  post  had  been,  at  the  earliest  stages  of  the 
contest,  established  at  Cairo,  a  prominent   point   at   the 
junction  of  the  Ohio  and  Upper  Mississippi   rivers    and 
commanding  both  streams.     The   position,  in  a   military  j 
point  of  view,  was  of  great   importance,  and  to  prevent 
the  rebels  taking  posession  of  it,  the  United  States  Gov-    f 
ernmcnt   had   ordered  its  occupation  and  fortification  by 
the  militia.     General  Grant   was  now  appointed  to  take 
command  of  the  post—the  militia  having  been  relieved  by 
the  three  years  volunteers— and  his  jurisdiction  extended 
across  the  Mississippi  and  embraced  all  the  shore  lines 
from  Cape  Giradcau  to  New  Madrid,  Mo.,  and  from  the 
northern  border  of  Alexander  County,  to  Cairo,  111. 

Up  to  this  stage  of  proceedings  Kentucky  had  been  held  | 
sacred,  at  least  so  far  as  being  occupied  by  the  armed  forces 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON   GRANT,  47 

of  either  side.  It  was  considered  "  neutral  ground,"  and 
was  so  declared.  The  adjoining  state,  Tennessee,  how- 
ever, seceded,  and  the  rebels  had  built  upon  the  extreme 
northern  border  defensive  works  to  repel  the  advance  of  the 
United  States  troops.  Occasionally  the  rebels  would  make 
movements  beyond  the  dividing  line  ;  but  upon  receiving 
a  protest  from  the  state  authorities  of  Kentucky  would  fall 
back.  At  last  they  took  possession  of  Hickman  and  Col- 
umbus, on  the  Mississippi  shore  of  Kentucky,  and  fortified 
them  ;  which  fact  was  no  sooner  discovered  by  General 
Grant  than  he  immediately  crossed  his  forces,  to  Paducah, 
and  afterwards  to  Smithland.  occupying  the  former  on 
September  6th,  and  the  latter  on  September  25th,  1861. 
Having  thus  planted  himself  on  the  soil  of  Kentucky,  he 
made  proper  provision  against  being  forcibly  removed 
therefrom,  by  establishing  garrisons  at  each  of  the  fore- 
named  places. 

When  Grant  occupied  Paducah  he  issued  a  proclamation 
to  the  inhabitants,  informing  them  that  he  did  not  intend 
to  infringe  on  their  legal  rights ;  but  he  was  determined 
to  hold  the  place  against  the  enemies  of  fie  Government. 
He  took  possession  of  the  telegraph  o  lice,  hospitals,  rail- 
road depots,  &c.,  and  placed  a  garrison  over  the  town. 

Paducah  being  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee 
River,  and  Smithland  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cumberland 
River,  gave  the  force  occupying  those  places  the  command 
of  the  entrance  of  these  streams.  By  this  means  much  of 
the  contraband  trade  previously  carried  on  with  the  rebel- 
lious states  through  Kentucky  was  prevented,  and  a  quan- 
tity of  arms  en  to  route  the  enemies  of  the  United  States 
fell  into  the  possession  of  the  Union  troops, 


48  THE   LIFE   OP 

General  Grant  made  several  reconnoisances  down  the 
Mississippi  River  on  steamers,  and  others  into  the  interior 
of  Kentucky  by  land ;  and  during  each  of  these  move- 
ments skirmishes  would  take  place.  His  command  was 
now  extended  to  embrace  the  whole  of  South-Eastern 
Missouri,  in  order  that  he  might  have  power  to  provide 
means  for  preventing  raiding  parties,  in  his  rear,  when  he 
found  himself  ready  to  make  an  advance.  On  the  16th  of 
October,  1861,  he  ordered  Colonels  Plummer  and  Carlin 
with  their  forces  to  advance  by  different  routes  upon 
Fredericktown,  one  of  the  county  seats  of  South-Eastern 
Missouri,  and  on  the  21st  the  rebels  were  defeated  and 
driven  from  the  place.  He  also  ascertained  the  position 
of  Jeff  Thompson's  forces  and  the  rebel  camp  at  Belmont ; 
and  on  November  6th,  at  the  head  of  two  brigades,  moved 
from  Cairo  for  that  point.  He  landed  near  Belmont  early 
on  the  morning  of  November  7th,  and  moved  to  the  at- 
tack. General  Cheatham  was  in  command  of  the  rebel 
camp,  and  although  the  enemy  made  a  determined  resist- 
ance, Grant  drove  them  to  and  through  their  camp,  and 
their  battery  of  twelve  guns  was  captured.  The  camp  was 
then  burned,  and  the  baggage,  camp  equipage,  horses  and 
several  prisoners  taken.  The  movement  was  a  success, 
and  but  for  the  arrival  of  fresh  rebel  troops  from  Hickman, 
Columbus,  and  other  points,  would  have  been  completely 
disastrous  to  the  enemy  in  that  part  of  the  country.  This 
reinforcement,  however,  caused  the  rebels  to  greatly  out- 
number tho  Union  troops,  who  at  the  beginning  were  only 
3,000  strong,  and  Grant  had  to  retire,  fighting  as  he  went, 
to  the  transports  in  the  river  where  the  embarkation  was 
effected  under  the  guns  of  the  armed  vessels. 

During  the  contest,   Grant  had  his  horse  killed  u  nder 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON   GRANT.  4P 

him,  as  did  also  several  of  his  officers,  so  hot  was  the  con- 
flict. Taking  all  the  objects  of  the  movement  into  consid- 
eration, Belmont  must  certainly  be  recorded  as  one  of  the 
successes  of  the  war. 

Shortly  after  this  General  Halleck  assumed  the  com- 
mand of  the  Department  of  Missouri,  and  began  a  complete 
reorganization  of  its  districts.  He  placed  General  Grant 
in  command  of  the  District  of  Cairo  on  December  20th, 
1861,  and  denned  its  limits  as  follows: — "To  include  all 
the  Southern  part  of  Illinois,  that  part  of  Kentucky 
west  of  the  Cumberland  River,  and  the  counties  of  Mis- 
souri south  of  Cape  Girardeau."  Of  this  nevv  district 
General  Grant  assumed  command  on  December  21st.  He 
then  located  his  various  posts,  appointed  his.staff  officers, 
and  made  provision  for  his  future  advance.  He  also  or- 
ganized his  new  forces  and  located  them  at  different  posts, 
in  view  of  proper  co-operation  when  needed. 

On  the  10th  of  January,  18G2,  a  part  of  General  Grant's 
forces,  under  the  immediate  command  of  General  McCler- 
nand,  landed  at  Fort  Jefferson  on  the  upper  Kentucky 
shore  of  the  Mississippi  River ;  and  the  commanding  Gene- 
ral having  organized  his  remaining  forces,  under  General 
Paine  and  C,  F.  Smith,  at  other  points  along  the  Ohio 
shore,  at  an  equal  distance  from  Cairo,  on  January  13th, 
ordered  a  general  advance  to  take  place  the  next  morning. 
The  forces  marched  in  a  triangle  and  scouted  the  country 
thoroughly,  returning  to  the  starting  points  on  January 
20th.  During  this  reconnoissance,  General  Grant  discov- 
ered the  weakness  of  the  rebel  forces  in  Kentucky,  west  of 
of  the  Tennessee  River,  and  he  at  once  prepared  for  an  ad- 
vance on  the  enemy's  defences  on  the  banks  of  that  stream. 
By  this  time  a  number  of  gunboats  of  light  draft  had  been 


50  THE   LIFE   OP 

constructed  on  the  Mississippi  river,  and  had  been  placed 
under  the  command  of  Commodore  (since  Admiral)  Foote. 
These  gunboats  were  to  assist  General  Grant  in  the  re- 
opening of  that  grand  navigable  water  course,  and  per- 
formed their  part  of  the  operations  with  great  effect. 

At  the  proper  time  the  troops  were  withdrawn  from 
Western  Kentucky,  and  some  transported  to  the  other  side 
of  the  Tennessee  river,  while  others  were  sent  back  to 
Cairo.  The  movements  of  the  latter  force  were  noised 
abroad,  while  those  of  the  former  were  kept  secret — their 
place  of  rendezvous  being  at  Paducah  and  Smithland. 

On  the  2d  of  February,  after  dark,  General  Grant  left 
Cairo  for  Paducah,  and  gave  orders  for  a  forward  move- 
ment by  land.  The  gunboats  under  Commodore  Foote 
were  ordered  to  start  at  a  time  that  would  enable  them 
to  co-operate  with  the  army  at  the  proper  moment. 

At  half-past  eleven  on  the  morning,  of  February  Cth,  the 
gunboats  presented  themselves  before  Fort  Henry,  a  de- 
fensive work  commanding  the  Tennessee  river  on  the 
Northern  border  of  that  State.  The  guns  of  the  boats 
opened  fire  upon  the  works,  and  after  an  engagement  of 
two  hours  and  a  quarter,  the  garrison  of  the  fort,  finding 
their  ictreat  cut  off  by  Grant's  advancing  forces,  surren- 
dered to  the  navy  before  the  military  arrived  at  the  post. 
Commodore  Foote,  however,  turned  the  work,  armament 
and  prisoners  over  to  General  Grant,  whose  forces  at  once 
occupied  the  position. 

After  having  reduced  Fort  Henry,  the  next  thing  was 
to  gain  possession  of  Fort  Donelson,  a  neighboring  work 
commanding  the  passage  of  the  Cumberland  river.  This 
fortification  was  much  stronger  than  that  of  Fort  Henry, 
and  better  garrisoned — fresh  troops  having  but  recently 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON   GRANT.  51 

been  sent  into  the  defences.  The  Union  forces  were  there- 
fore organized  into  throe  divisions,  under  Generals  McClcr- 
nand,  Smith  and  Wallace,  and  were  so  disposed,  that  in 
marching  they  would  be  sure  to  concentrate  upon  the 
enemy's  works  at  such  positions  as  to  secure  a  complete  in- 
vestment. 

On  the  morning  of  February  1 2th,  the  forward  move- 
ment was  ordered,  and  by  noon  the  advance  had  reached 
the  picket  lines  of  the  enemy.  Dispositions  were  made 
during  the  night  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  garrison,  and 
on  the  morning  of  the  13th  the  gunboat  "  Carondelet."  with 
General  Grant  on  board,  advanced  up  the  Cumberland 
river,  to  within  gunshot  of  the  works,  for  the  purpose  of 
drawing  the  enemy's  fire,  and  giving  time  to  the  remainder 
of  the  forces  to  arrive  at  their  proper  positions. 

On  the  14th  the  gunboats  of  the  fleet  moved  up  the 
river,  and  engaged  the  batteries — the  plunging  shots  from 
which  greatly  injured  the  vessels.  The  gunboats  had  to 
withdraw,  arid  General  Grant  began  to  make  movements 
for  a  complete  investment  of  the  rebel  works  by  the  mili- 
tary forces. 

On  the  morning  of  the  15th,  the  rebels  made  a  sortie 
from  their  works  upon  the  right  of  General  Grant's  line, 
and  by  a  sudden  attack  with  superior  numbers,  drove  back 
that  part  of  his  army  and  captured  two  batteries  of  artil- 
lery. General  Grant,  however,  soon  discovered  where  his 
line  was  weakened,  and  quickly  strengthened  it  by  order- 
ing up  fresh  troops,  and  manoeuvring  others.  The  rebels 
were  again  attacked,  and  all  but  three  of  the  guns  were 
taken. 

The  enemy  being  reinforced  renewed  the  attack  ;  and 
while  Grant  was  achieving  a  success  at  one  point  of  the 


52  THE   LIFE   OP 

line,  the  rebels  were  carrying  everything  before  them  at 
another.  To  those  in  that  part  of  the  field,  where  the 
rebels  were  victorious,  the  prospect  looked  blank;  but 
when  the  evening  reports  were  brought  in  to  General 
Grant,  he  seemed  to  be  impressed  with  the  idea  that  the 
situation  was  not  as  unfavorable  as  it  appeared  at  first. 
In  fact,  he  stated  that  the  rebels  were  "  exactly  where  he 
wanted  them."  He  then  ordered  a  determined  assault  to 
be  made  on  the  enemy's  position  in  front  of  the  left  of 
Grant's  line,  the  position  to  be  carried  at  any  sacrifice. 
The  works  were  carried  gallantly,  after  a  desperate  strug- 
gle, the  rebels  being  driven  oat  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet, 
and  the  "  Stars  and  Stripes  "  placed  over  the  defences, 
This  success  encouraged  the  troops  at  other  points  of  the 
line,  and  the  heights,  commanding  Fort  Donelson  were  all 
carried  by  a  storm.  When  the  day  ended,  the  U.  S. 
troops  occupied  a  better  position  than  heretofore.  The 
rebel  works  were  all  but  invested,  and  the  attacking  force 
slept  on  their  arms. 

During  the  night  a  part  of  the  rebel  garrison  fled,  and 
the  next  morning  beheld  a  flag  of  truce  waving  over  the 
rebel  works.  General  Buckner  having,  been  left  in  com- 
mand of  the  post  by  those  generals  who  had  run  away, 
proposed  a  commission  to  be  appointed  in  view  of  settling 
terms  of  capitulation ;  but  Grant  would  listen  to  "  no 
other  terms  than  an  unconditional  surrender  "  of  the  works 
and  garrisons.  He  concluded  his  reply  with  :  "  I  propose 
to  move  immediately  upon  your  works."  General  Buck- 
ner did  not  like  the  answer;  but  admitted  that  he  was 
"  compelled  to  accept  the  ungenerous  and  unchilvalrous 
terms  "  proposed.  Such  were  the  words  used  in  reply  to 
General  Grant. 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT.  53 

The  victory  was  a  glorious  one.  By  the  surrender  the 
rebels  lost  not  only  General  Buckner,  but  over  thirteen 
thousand  other  prisoners,  three  thousand  horses,  forty- 
eight  field  pieces,  seventeen  heavy  guns,  twenty  thousand 
stand  of  small  arms  and  a  large  quantity  of  stores,  besides 
231  killed  and  1,007  wounded.  The  Union  loss  was  446 
killed,  1,735  wounded  and  150  prisoners.  Two  regiments 
of  Tennesseeans  numbering  nearly  fifteen  hundred  men 
sent  to  reinforce  the  garrison  at  Fort  Doneldson  were  also 
taken,  without  a  struggle,  they  being  unaware  of  the  capi- 
tulation on  the  previous  day. 

The  capture  of  these  two  forts  opened  up  a  water  com- 
munication through  the  heart  of  Tennessee  and  Kentucky, 
and  enabled  the  Union  troops  to  advance  far  into  the  ene- 
my's territory.  The  defences  at  Columbus  and  Bowling 
Green  were  thus  rendered  valueless,  as  they  had  been 
erected  to  stop  an  advance  which  could  not  be  made  by 
another  route  without  hindrance  or  opposition.  Those 
works  were,  therefore,  evacuated  and  afterwards  occupied 
by  the  Union  troops. 

The  surrender  of  Fort  Donelson  took  place  on  February 
IGthj  1862,  and  in  reward  for  the  brilliancy  of  the  cam- 
paign, General  Grant  was  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Major- 
General  of  Volunteers,  to  date  from  that  day. 

Up  to  this  time  General  Grant  had  been  reputed  as  a 
hard  drinker,  and  therefore  incapable  of  command.  He 
was  very  uncouth  and  careless  in  his  personal  appearance  ; 
his  dress  being  thrown  upon  him  and  left  to  fall  into  its 
place,  rather  than  being  properly  adjusted.  There  was 
but  little  of  the  usual  tinsel  and  peacock  finery  of 
the  fancy  soldier  in  his  appearance  and  far  less  of 
the  general.  This  carelessness  doubtless  added  to  the  bad 


54  THE   LIFE   OP 

influence  engendered  by  the  report  of  his  inebriate  habits, 
which,  up  to  this  time,  may  have  had  some  amount  of  truth 
in  it.  Many  inducements  were  brought  to  bear  by  his 
enemies  on  persons  in  power  to  cause  his  removal  antf,  per- 
haps, their  machinations  would  have  succeeded,  had  it  not 
been  for  the  advice  of  Admiral  Foote,  who  had  noted  the 
genius  of  General  Grant,  and  did  not  like  to  see  such  an 
officer  ruined  by  the  use  of  ardent  spirits.  He  visited  the 
General  at  Fort  Henry,  and  with  the  candor  of  a  friend 
introduced  the  subject  of  the  evil  influence  of  intemper- 
ance in  the  army.  He  said,  the  existence  of  the  nation 
and  the  rights  of  humantity  demanded  total  abstinence, 
especially  on  the  part  of  those  in  command  ;  and  Grant 
being  a  man  of  greater  sense  than  was  accredited  to  him} 
saw  in  a  moment  the  depth  and  importance  of  the  words 
of  the  gallant  sailor.  From  that  day  he  resolved  to  be  a 
strictly  absteatous  man,  and  he  has  kept  his  resolve  and 
has  prospered. 

Another  incident  occurred,  which"arose  from  the  report 
of  Grant's  continuous  drinking  habit.  A  Temperance  de- 
legation from  Illinois  visited  St.  Louis  for  the  purpose  of 
petitioning  General  Halleck  to  remove  General  Grant  from 
command,  on  account  of  his  reported  bad  habit,  as  he 
"  endangered  the  lives  of  the  troops  under  his  command." 
General  Halleck,  however,  stated  he  "  was  satisfied  with 
General  Grant  and  thought  they  would  also  soon  be."  Be- 
fore the  delegation  had  left  St.  Louis  the  news  of  the  cap- 
ture of  Fort  Donelson  and  thirteen  thousand  prisoners  ar- 
rived at  headquarters,  and  General  Hallack  posted  the 
news  himself  on  the  bulletin  of  the  hotel. 

"  Well,"  said  General  Halleck,  in  the  hearing  of  all 
assembled  in  the  office  of  the  hotel,  "  if  General  Grant  is 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON   GRANT.  x  55 

such  a  drunkard  as  some  persons  state;,  and  can  yet  win 
such  victories  as  these,  I  think  it  is  ray  duty  to  issue  an 
order  at  once  that  any  man  or  •woman  found  sober  to-night 
in  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  shall  be  put  in  the  guard-house." 

It  is  said  many  took  the  hint,  and  a  night  of  general 
jollification  ensued  ;  and  among  the  most  jovial  were  th° 
members  of  the  temperance  delegation  from  Illinois. 


CHAPTER  VIL 

GRANT   AS   A   MAJOR-GENERAL    OP     VOLUNTEERS. 

Giant's  Command  again  Extended — Movements  through  Tennessee  — 
Pittsburg  Landing — Grant  on  Retreating — Commander  of  a  Department— 
Iuha—Corinth,No.  2—  Victory—  Vicksburg— Advance  of  the  Winter  of  1862 
and  ichy  it  Failed — Arkansas  Post  — Change  of  Base — Side  Expeditions — 
Naval  Co-operation— Grierson's  Expedition — Advance  to,  and  Siege  of 
Vicksburg — Victory  and  Surrender  of  the  Works — Promotions,  8fc. 

To  enable  General  Grant  to  carry  out  his  plans,  and  to 
move  without  infringing  upon  the  limits  of  another's  com- 
mand, his  district  was  increased  to  embrace  all  the  country 
between  the  Tennessee  and  Mississippi  rivers,  from  the 
Ohio  to  the  Mississippi  State  line,  and  to  include  Cairo. 
His  headquarters  were  located  at  any  point  where  the 
commander  might  be.  The  change  of  district — which  was 
now  called  the  District  of  West  Tennessee— enabled  him 
to  have  the  use  of  the  Tennessee  River  for  transportation, 
and,  after  the  capture  of  Fort  Henry  had  been  effected,  a 
reconnoissance  proved  that  stream  to  be  without  obstruc- 
tion to  the  head  of  navigation.  Grant  therefore  laid  his 
plans  that  his  troops  should  be  sent  up  the  Tennessee 
River,  and  from  a  point  of  landing  to  march  to  the  capture 
of  Memphis,  and  of  the  railroads  leading  thereto. 


56  THE   LIFE   OP 

^ 

Meanwhile  a  co-operating  force  under  the  command  o£ 
General  Buell  was  marching  through  Central  Kentucky, 
and  with  the  assistance  of  the  gunboats,  that  had,  by  the 
capture  of  Fort  Donelson,  been  enabled  to  pass  up  the 
Cumberland  river,  took  possession  of  Nashville,  Tennessee. 
Part  of  General  Grant's  forces  had  already  secured  Clarks- 
ville,  and  the  -Cumberland  river  was  now  considered  as 
once  more  open  for  United  States  vessels. 

General  Buell's  forces  were  now  to  march  through 
Tennessee  to  the  border,  marked  by  the  line  of  the  Tennes- 
see river  on  the  east  side  of  the  stream,  while  General 
Grant  was  to  advance  his  forces  along  the  west  side  of  the 
same  water  course,  both  armies  to  arrive  at  about  the  same 
spot  near  the  head  of  navigation,  at  about  the  same  time. 

Previous  to  General  Grant's  advance,  the  officers  of 
the  regimcmts  under  his  command  presented  him  with  a 
fine  sword,  of  elaborate  workmanship,  in  appreciation  of 
his  skill  in  the  taking  of  Forts  Henry  and  Donaldson. 
This  presentation  took  place  on  March  11,  1862.  Mean- 
while the  advance  of  his  forces  had  already  passed  up  the 
Tennessee  River  to  Savannah,  his  new  base  of  operations. 

The  enemy  at  this  time  had  concentrated  an  army  in  the 
Southwest,  under  Generals  A.  S.  Johnston  and  Beauregard, 
with  their  headquarters  at  Corinth,  Miss.  The  object  of 
this  was  to  prevent,  if  possible,  the  Union  troops  from 
gaining  the  lower  Mississippi  river  by  way  of  Memphis ; 
the  navigation  from  the  north  having  been  impeded  by  the 
fortification  of  New  Madrid  and  Island  No.  10,  near  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  Tennessee  State  line.  The  troops 
under  General  Grant  had  also  concentrated  at  Savannah, 
Tenn.,  and  on  March  15th,  1862,  advanced  across  the  Ten- 
nessee river  into  McNairy  County,  and  struck  the  railroad 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT.  57 

leading  from  Jackson,  Tenn..  to  Corinth,  at  a  place  known 
as  Purdy  Station.  This  delayed  the  passage  of  the  rebel 
troops,  en  route  for  Corinth,  but  did  not  prevent  their  con- 
centration, the  enemy  having  other  lines  of  transportation. 
By  the  1st  of  April  the  rebel  force  was  estimated  at  forty- 
five  thousand  strong  at  Corinth,  with  reinforcements  en 
route  to  swell  the  numbers  to  about  seventy  thousand. 
Grant's  army  had  crossed  the  river,  and  was  then  in  camp 
at  Pittsburg  Landing. 

On  April  2d,  1862,  the  rebels  drove  in  the  Union 
videttes,  and  the  next  day  prepared  for  a  general  advance 
upon  Grant's  camp,  which,  as  before  stated,  had  been  lo- 
cated at  Pittsburg  Landing,  nearly  opposite  Savannah. 
At  this  time  all  the  forces  under  General  Grant  consisted 
of  but  five  divisions,  much  less  than  fifty  thousand  men, 
part  of  which  force  was  stationed  some  distance  to  the 
north,  and  not  readily  to  be  made  available.  On  the 
evening  of  April  4th,  the  enemy  made  a  reconnoissance 
in  force  to  discover  the  exact  position  of  Grant's  troops, 
while  at  the  same  time  a  body  of  cavalry  was  sent  to  pre- 
vent the  junction  of  these  forces  north  of  Grant's  position, 
with  the  main  army.  Both  manoeuvres  succeeded,  giving  the 
advantage  entirely  to  the  rebels,  whose  object  was  to  de-. 
feat  Grant  before  the  co-operating  forces  under  Buell 
could  reach  him — the  plan  of  campaign  having  been  made 
known  to  the  enemy  by  traitors  within  the  Union  lines. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  Sunday,  April  6th,  the  rebels 
commenced  their  advance,  driving  in  the  Union  pickets, 
while  sharpshooters  began  to  pick  off  the  officers.  Shortly 
after  the  main  army  of  the  enemy,  in  heavy  masses,  ap- 
peared within  view  of  Grant's  headquarters,  and  every 
disposition  was  made  by  the  Union  troops  to  receive  it. 


58  THE  LIFE   OP 

Steadily,  foot  by  foot,  the  Union  forces  resisted  the  ad- 
vance, until  they  were  forced  back  to  the  river,  "which  cut 
off  all  further  retreat.  The  c-nemy  pressed  them  the  more 
closely,  when  they  saw  they  were  falling  back,  in  the  hope 
of  driving  them  in  disorder  into  the  river,  but  the  Union 
troops,  although  considerably  outnumbered,  resisted  with  a 
determination  worthy  of  their  cause.  From  nine  o'clock  in 
the  morning  until  nightfall,  it  was  a  continuous  struggle — • 
the  rebels  engaging  right,  left  and  centre  at  the  same  time, 
and  with  equal  impetuosity ;  but  the  most  severe  part  of 
the  conflict  took  place  in  the  afternoon — the  rebels  hoping 
to  effect  a  complete  defeat  of  the  Union  troops  before 
night.  The  enemy  outnumbered  the  Union  forces  nearly 
two  to  one,  and  the  condition  of  the  latter  was  a  very 
critical  one.  Grant  instantly  saw  the  position  of  affairs, 
and  knowing  that  Buell  was  making  forced  marches  to 
reach  him,  he  rode  along  the  front  of  the  line?,  and  called 
upon  the  men  to  stand  firm  uutil  the  troops  under  that 
officer  could  arrive,  for  on  their  firmness  depended  the  is- 
sue ot  the  great  campaign  in  the  Southwest.  The  two 
gunboats  in  the  ri^er  were  ordered  to  fire  on  the  enemy, 
and  threw  their  heavy  shells  into  the  advancing  ranks, 
checking  the  impetuous  assault.  When  night  closed 
Grant's  troops  still  held  their  position  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  river,  but  the  rebels  slept  close  on  their  front. 

During  the  night  Bucll's  troops  arrived,  and  next  morn- 
ing the  reinforced  Union  army,  under  Grant's  directions, 
recommenced  the  action.  The  rebels  had  to  fall  back ; 
but  still  they  resisted  the  contest  with  great  determination 
and  bravery,  as  they  were  fully  aware  that  defeat  would 
be  a  death-blow  to  their  hopes.  The  struggle  was  obsti- 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON   GRANT.  59 

nate  all  the  morning ;  but  during  the  afternoon  General 
Grant  finding  that  the  enemy  was  wavering,  ordered  a 
charge  across  the  field  of  battle,  and  led  the  same  in  per- 
son. His  courage  inspired  the  troops;  and  amid  a  hail, 
storm  of  shell  and  cannister  as  well  as  round  shot,  tho  gal- 
lant soldiers  rushed  like  an  avalanche  upon  the  foe,  who 
fled  in  dismay,  and  never  made  another  stand.  Grant  or- 
dered an  immediate  pursuit,  and  the  disheartened  rebels 
took  refuge  in  their  works  at  Corinth — the  pursuing 
forces  picking  up  stragglers  all  the  way  along  the  route. 

During  this  action  the  rebels  lost  their  leader  and 
principal  general,  Albert  Sydney  Johnston,  one  of  the 
first  generals  in  their  army.  General  Grant  was  slightly 
wounded  during  the  contest,  but  did  not  leave  the  field. 
The  Union  loss  was  estimated  at  1,500  killed,  and  3,500 
wounded,  with  many  prisoners.  The  rebel  loss  was  much 
heavier  in  killed  and  wounded.  Notwithstanding  the 
disparity  in  the  casualties,  the  victory,  was,  however  with 
Grant  and  the  War  Department  awarded  him  its  thanks 
and  the  thanks  of  the  nation. 

A  reconnoissance  the  next  day  discovered  that  the  re- 
treat of  the  rebels  had  been  a  disastrous  one,  and  but  for 
their  strong  cavalry  rear  guard,  must  have  resulted  in  a 
decided  rout. 

When  the  battle  was  over,  General  Buell,  a  thorough 
theoretical  soldier,  began  criticising  in  a  friendly  way  the 
impolicy  of  Grant's  having  fought  a  battle  with  the  Ten- 
nessee river  behind  his  mon  ;  a  course  of  action  entirely 
in  opposition  to  all  laid  down  rules  in  warfare. 

"  Where,"  inquired  Bucll,  "  if  beaten,  could  you  have 
retreated,  General?" 


60  THE  LIFE   OP 

"  I  did  not  mean  to  be  beaten,"  was  Grant's  sententious 
reply. 

"  But  suppose  you  had  been  beaten  in  spite  of  all  your 
exertions,  where  could  you  have  retreated  ?" 

"  Well,  there  were  the  transports  to  carry  the  remains 
of  the  command  across  the  river." 

"  But,  General,"  said  Buell,  "  your  whole  transports 
could  not  contain  over  ten  thousand  men,  and  it  would 
have  been  impossible  to  make  more  than  one  trip  in  the 
face  of  the  enemy." 

"  Well,"  said  Grant,  as  he  lit  another  cigar,  "  if  I  had 
been  beaten,  transports  for  ten  thousand  men  would  have 
been  abundant  for  all  that  would  have  been  left  of  us." 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Grant'sa  rmy  was  nearly 
fifty  thousand  strong,  and  the  remark  is  characteristic  of 
the  man. 

General  Halleck,  shortly  after  this  battle,  assumed  com- 
mand in  person  of  the  forces  in  the  field  ;  and  General 
Grant  assumed  command  of  his  immediate  troops.  The 
army  was  at  once  reorganized,  and  the  forces  that  had 
been  engaged  in  the  reduction  of  New  Madrid  and  Island 
No.  10,  were  added  to  the  command,  which  now  consisted 
of  sixteen  divisions,  divided  into  three  armies.  Ot  these 
forces  General  Grant  commanded  one  half — eight  divisions 
under  the  denomination  of  the  "  Army  of  the  Tennessee," 
a  name  still  highly  honored  in  the  South- West. 

An  outcry  was  now  raised  by  the  friends  of  those  who 
had  fallen  at  Shiloh,  and  by  the  enemies  of  Grant  and  the 
North,  calling  for  the  removal  of  that  officer  on  the  ground 
that  he  had  caused  a  useless  slaughter  of  his  men.  Even 
in  Congress  this  feeling  had  gained  ground,  and  it  was  fur- 


- 

ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT.  61 

thermore  reported,  with  many  assertions  of  truth,  that  Grant 
had  in  reality  failed  in  the  first  day's  battle  at  Pitts- 
burg  Landing,  or  Shiloh.  A  strong  effort  was  even  there 
made  to  cause  his  removal.  But  an  advocate  arose  in  the 
person  of  Hon.  E.  B.  Washburne,  who  in  the  face  of  the 
wholo  House  defended  the  cause  of  a  general  in  whom  he  " 
placed  implicit  faith.  The  Western  governors  tried  to 
induce  General  Halleck  to  remove  him  from  the  field  j 
but  that  officer,  knowing  and  appreciating  his  worth' 
placed  him,  on  May  1st,  18G2,  in  a  more  important  posi- 
tion, that  of  second  in  command,  or  commanding  general 
in  the  field,  allowing  him  to  retain  the  superintendence  of 
his  own  forces  and  district. 

A  number  of  reconnoissances  were  next  made  along  the 
front  of  the  Union  position,  after  which,  on  May  llth,  a 
general  advance  was  determined  upon,  in  the  direction  of 
Corinth.  The  rebels  resisted  the  movement,  and  skirmishes 
and  conflicts  naturally  ensued,  until,  on  May  17th,  a  sharp 
fight  ensued  on  the  right  of  the  Union  line,  at  a  place 
known  as  Russell's  House.  The  desired  position  was  at 
last  secured  by  the  Union  troops  after  a  hard  fight.  A 
new  feature  now  presented  itself.  As  Corinth  had  been 
made  a  strongly  defended  fortification  it  was  resolved  to 
approach  it  with  counter  works,  as  it  was  found  impossible 
to  thoroughly  invest  it.  The  rebel  general,  Beauregard, 
fully  understanding  what  must  be  the  result  of  such  a  pro- 
cedure, now  began  to  withdraw  his  troops,  leaving  only 
enough  to  defend  the  position  against  actual  assault,  and  to 
make  a  show  of  front  against  the  Unionists. 

On  May  21st  a  division  of  General  Grant's  army  of  the  • 
Tennessee  took  possession  of  a  ridge  north  of  Philip's 


62  THE   LIFE   OP 

Creek,  capturing  prisoners,  arms,  equiments,  &c. ;  and  on 
the  27th  another  fight  took  place  further  to  the  right,  re- 
sulting in  the  defeat  of  the  enemy.  Both  these  contests 
were  conducted  under  the  direct  superintendence  of  Gen- 
eral Grant. 

Next  day  General  Grant  led  three  columns  of  troops  to 
within  musket  shot  of  the  works  at  Corinth,  his  advance 
being  stoutly  resisted  by  the  troops  left  in  front  of  those 
works.  The  Union  force  however  pressed  forward,  con- 
structing works  as  they  advanced,  until  the  remnant  of 
Beauregard's  army  that  had  been  left  behind  in  Corinth, 
discovering  the  inulility  of  longer  holding  the  defences, 
withdrew,  shortly  before  midnight  on  May  29th,  leaving 
them  entirely  unprotected.  The  next  morning  the  with- 
drawal was  discovered  and  the  works  were  at  once  oc- 
cupied by  the  Union  troops.  The  city  was  taken  posses- 
sion of  about  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning. 

It  has  been  a  subject  of  wonder  ever  since  that  the 
enemy  should  have  given  up  so  strong  and  valuable  a 
position  without  a  more  decided  struggle,  especially  after 
taking  such  pains  to  fortify  it.  An  assault  would  have 
been  very  costly  to  the  assailing  forces,  and  a  stubborn 
resistance  might  have  delayed  the  occupation  of  the  palce 
for  some  time  longer. 

Cavalrj7  expeditions  had  been  sent  out  for  the  purpose 
of  cutting  off  the  retreat  of  some  portion  of  the  enemy's 
forces ;  but  the  rebels  had  obtained  too  good  a  start,  and 
on  the  9th  of  June  was  at  least  seventy  miles  from  Corinth, 
and  entrenched. 

On  the  20th  of  June  a  part  of  Grant's  army  which  had 
been  in  pursuit  of  the  retreating  rebels  took  possession 
of  Holly  Springs,  Miss.,  and  destroyed  the  road  leading 
south  to  prevent  a  surprise  by  the  rebels. 

General  Halleck  left  the  Department  of  the  Mississippi 
on  July  17th  1862,  to  take  command  of  all  the  United 
States  armies,  his  headquarters  to  be  at  Washington.  This 
naturally  led  to  the  re-construction  of  his  Department; 
and  all  the  country  from  the  Mississippi  river  to  the 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON   GRANT.  63 

western  shore  of  the  Tennessee,  Cairo,  Forts  Henry  and 
Donelson,  the  western  shore  of  the  Mississipp  river  and 
the  northern  part  of  the  state  of  Mississippi  was  formed 
into  a,  military  district  and  General  Grant  made  its  com- 
mander. This  section  of  country  was  denominated  the 
«  District  of  West  Tennessee."  Within  a  month  it  was 
made  into  a  separate  department  under  the  same  name. 

Very  little  fighting  occurred  in  the  department  from 
June  to  September  1863 — General  Grant  being  principally 
eni-aged  in  restoring  order  in  the  conqured  cities,  and  in 
the  suppression  of  actual  aiding  and  abetting  of  the  enemy 
by  the  rebel  sympathizers.  A  skirmish  would,  however, 
take  place  between  the  guerillas  and  the  post  guards  ;  but 
in  these  operations  the  rebels  generally  fared  the  worse,  as 
General  Grant  had  looked  after  all  such  positions. 

September,  however,  opened  with  very  important  op- 
erations by  the  rebels  in  the  Southwest  General  Bragg, 
at  the  head  of  a  large  force  commanded  a  movement 
through  East  Tennessee  and  Kentucky  to  the  Ohio 
River,  and  thus  engaged  the  army  acting  on  the  East  of 
the  Tennessee  River.  Meanwhile  Grant  kept  a  thorough 
lookout  with  his  civalyy  upon  any  forces  likely  to  operate 
west  of  that  stream,  and  this  system  of  reconnoissance  kept 
him  fully  aware  of  the  approach  of  General  Price's  column. 
Grant  in  order  to  be  prepared  for  action  withdrew  all  his 
advanced  camps  to  the  defences  of  Corinth,  and  then  be- 
gan to  advance  on  Price's  position  at  luka.  Early  on  the 
morning  of  September  18th,  the  Union  troops  commenced 
their  march  by  two  routes,  the  column  under  General 
Rosccrans  advancing  by  the  south,  the  other  under  Gen- 
eral Ch'd,  and  which  Grant  accompanied  himself,  approach- 
ing the  town  from  the  north,  via  Brownsville.  Had  the 
concentration  of  the  forces  been  properly  effected,  Price's 
army  would  doubtless  have  been  captnred ;  but  owing  to 
the  haste  with  which  the  troops  on  the  south  of  the  town 
attacked  the  enemy,  the  latter  were  enabled  to  escape, 
not,  however,  until  alter  a  severe  contest  early  on  Septem- 
ber 19th,  during  which  one  third  of  the  Union  column 


64  THE   LIFE  OF 

was  killed  or  wounded.  Price's  army  was  severely 
crippled,  losing  as  much  as  210  left  dead  on  the  field,  be- 
ides  the  wounded  ;  but  not  sufficiently  hurt  to  prevent  its 
retreat.  General  Grant's  object  was  to  have  cut  off  all 
chances  of  escape  by  any  route ;  but  the  engagement  hav- 
ing been  prematurely  brought  on,  prevented  his  plans 
from  succeeding. 

General  Grant,  finding  that  General  Bragg  had  reached 
Kentucky,  determined  to  centralize  his  headquarters,  and 
locate  it  at  Jackson,  Tenn  ,  placing  a  general  commander 
over  the  post  at  Corinth.  Price's  column,  which  had  re- 
treated from  luka,  by  a  circuitous  route,  marched  to  Rip- 
ley,  southwest  of  Corinth,  and  there  concentrated  with 
other  forces  under  Van  Dorn  and  Lovell.  The  object  of 
this  movement  was  to  re-take  Corinth,  if  possible.  Gen- 
Grant,  however,  kept  himself  fully  aware  of  the  move- 
ments of  the  enemy,  and  had  so  disposed  of  his  forces  that 
if  the  rebels  made  an  attack  he  would  not  only  be  ready 
to  meet  it,  but  administer  to  them  a  severe  castigation. 

The  concentrated  forces  of  the  rebels  began  their  ad- 
vance upon  October  1st,  and  on  the  4th  made  a  determined 
and  desperate  attack  upon  Corinth.  General  Grant  at 
once  sent  reinforcements  to  that  place  under  General  Mc- 
Pherson.  The  fighting  was  obstinate,  but  by  noon  the 
rebels  were  driven  from  the  city,  in  disorder  and  chased 
into  the  woods.  Next  morning  they  were  followed  up  and 
were  pushed  rapidly  toward  the  Hatchie  River  ;  but  they 
were  then  met  by  the  forces  under  Generals  Ord  and 
Hurlburt.  The  rebels  were  next  driven  across  the  stream, 
and  Grant's  troops  took  possession  of  the  heights.  Th  e 
pursuit  was  still  kept  up,  and  next  morning  General  Grant 
received  a  telegram  that  the  enemy  was  "  totally  routed, 
throwing  everything  away."  The  repulse  was  disastrous. 

President  Lincoln,  appreciating  the  value  of  this  victory, 
sent  to  General  Grant  a  letter  of  thanks  and  congratula- 
tions for  the  series  of  brilliant  operations  performed  by 
his  command. 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON   GRANT,  65 

General    Grant's   department   was,   on   October    16th, 
further  increased  and  extended  so  as  to  embrace  Vicks- 
burg, and  all  the  State  of  Mississippi  nortli  of  that  city. 
It  was  denominated  the  Department  of  the  Tennessee. 

Meanwhile  General  Bragg's  rebel  forces  were  holding 
in  their  possession  all  that  part  of  Tennessee  west  of  the 
city  of  Nashville.  The  position  thus  held  was  in  the  ad- 
joining department  to  that  of  General  Grant,  and  opera- 
tions were  inaugurated  by  the  Union  commander  of  that 
department  to  drive  the  enemy  from  the  State. 

General  Grant  now  prepared  his  army  for  a  grand 
movement  in  the  direction  of  Vicksburg,  a  strongly  forti- 
fied position  on  the  Mississippi  River,  and  the  principal 
point  at  which  the  rebels  prevented  the  navigation  of  that 
great  highway.  He  cut  down  the  baggage  trains  of  his 
forces,  and  recruited  his  strength  until  it  numbered  four 
corps.  At  the  latter  end  of  October  he  sent  forth  cavalry 
parties  on  reconnoitering  expeditions,  and  on  the  4th  of 
November,  removed  his  headquarters  to  La  Grange,  near 
the  Mississippi  State  line,  and  near  Grand  Junction.  This 
position  enabled  him  to  command  communication  with  all 
important  forces  north  of  him,  while  it  brought  him  much 
nearer  to  his  Iin3  of  operations. 

The  cavalry  were  again  sent  forth,  this  time  as  an  ad- 
vance guard,  followed  by  a  large  body  of  infantry  under 
General  McPherson.  The  enemy's  position  along  the  rail- 
road to  the  Mississippi  State  capital  was  thereby  definite- 
ly ascertained  to  be  as  follows  :  General  Lovell  held  com- 
mand of  the  country  north  of  Holly  Springs  and  General 
Pemberton  the  country  between  there  and  Jackson,  the 
State  capital,  with  Price  as  a  subordinate.  The  number 
of  men  between  Grant  and  the  State  capital  was  estimated 
at  about  fifty  thousand  men  of  all  arms. 

General  Grant  having  regulated  the  working  of  his  de- 
partment, so  as  to  leave  nothing  behind  him  to  cause  con- 
fusion, at  once  prepared  for  a  winter's  campaign  against 
Vicksburg.  He  first  sent  a  force  of  cavalry  and  infantry 


66  THE   LIFE   OP 

from  the  shore  of  the  Mississippi  River  oa  a  reconnpissance 
along  the  line  of  the  Coldwater  and  Tallahatchie  rivers, 
and  an  expedition  to  Garner's  station  of  the  railroad  lead- 
ing to  Jackson,  was  inaugurated  to  destory  the  bridge  and 
track  at  that  point.  The  expeditions  were  pushed  for- 
ward to  Panola,  Oakland  and  Coffceville,  and  inflicted  a 
great  amount  of  damage  to  the  roads  and  railroads.  These 
movements  were  principally  intended  as  diversions  from  the 
main  object  of  the  advance. 

General  Grant,  with  one  of  the  main  columns,  started 
about  the  same  time  from  Grand  Junction  on  the  road  to 
Jackson,  arid  on  November  28th,  left  Davis's  Mills  for 
Holly  Springs— a  cavalry  force  leading  the  way.  On  the 
29th  the  advance  passed  through  Holly  Springs  arriving 
near  Waterford  the  next  day.  On  December  2d,  the 
rebels  evacuated  Abbeville,  and  the  mounted  Union  troops 
occupied  the  place.  On  the  3d  the  cavalry  occupied  Oxford 
after  a  series  of  skirmishes;  followed  the  roads  through 
Water  Valley  on  the  4th,  and  defeated  the  rebels  in  a 
skirmish  near  Coffeeville  on  the  5th.  It  will  thus  be  seen, 
that  the  two  forces — from  the  Mississippi  river  and  Gran  t 
Junction — were  operating  in  the  same  region  at  the  same 
time,  although  from  different  point*,  thereby  creating  a 
perfect  panic  among  the  rebel  inhabitants. 

The  rebels  tried  to  divert  General  Grant's  attention 
from  his  main  movement  by  operations  in  his  rear,  but  up 
to  this  time  had  entirely  failed.  That  commander,  there- 
fore, about  the  middle  of  December,  1862,  moved  his  head- 
quarters from  Holly  Springs  to  Oxford,  Miss.,  from  which 
point  he  intended  to  advance  upon  Jackson;  but  the 
officer  he  left  in  charge  of  Holly  Springs  betrayed  his 
trust  and  surrendered  that  post,  with  all  its  stores  and  sup- 
plies, to  the  rebels,  without  even  a  show  of  resistance.  As 
this  post  had  been  made  a  depot  and  semi-base  for  future 
operations,  it  not  only  prevented  any  further  advance  of 
General  Grant's  forces,  but  caused  him  to  retrace  his  steps 
and  re-establish  his  headquarters  at  Holly  Springs.  This 
disgraceful  surrender  defeated  the  winter  campaign,  as  will 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT.  67 

be  at  once  seen,  and  the  officer  who  had  allowed  the  sur- 
render, alter  an  investigation  into  his  conduct,  was  dis- 
gracefully dismissed  from  the  service  of  the  United  States. 

In  conjunction  with  General  Grant's  advance  was  anoth- 
er expedition  under  General  Sherman,  which  started  from 
Memphis  down  the  Mississippi  river  to  the  Yazoo  river 
with  the  intention  of  striking  at  Vicksburg  from  the  north, 
while  General  Grant  occupied  the  attention  of  the  rebels 
at  Jackson.  Everything  went  well  until  the  surrender 
of  Holly  Springs  ;  but  this  occurring  at  a  time  when  it  was 
impossible  either  to  recall  General  Sherman,  or  to  assist 
by  a  diversion,  the  rebels  were  enabled  to  reinforce  the  gar- 
rison at  Vicksburg  by  the  very  troops  Grant  had  intended 
to  keep  in  his  front,  and  the  result  was  that  General  Sherman 
was,  on  December  29th,  1832,  repulsed  with  some  loss. 
Thus,  by  the  treachery  of  one  man  the  winter  campaign 
was  rendered  unavailing,  and  hundreds  of  gallant  fellows 
slain. 

The  first  Vicksburg  campaign  ended,  General  Grant 
next  turned  his  attention  toward  the  western  shore  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  which  formed  part  of  his  department. 
The  rebels  had  fortified  a  point  of  the  Arkansas  river  near 
its  junction  with  the  White  river,  so  as  to  obstruct  the 
navigation.  The  fort  had  been  constructed  at  what  was 
known  as  the  Post  of  Arkansas,  and  was  well  armed  and 
garrisoned.  General  Sherman  proposed  a  plan  by  which 
this  work  could  be  taken,  and  his  corps,  together  with  that 
of  General  McClernand,  was  set  apart  by  General  Grant  to 
accomplish  the  work.  As  General  McClernand  slightly  out- 
ranked General  Sherman,  he  took  the  nominal  command  of 
the  expedition,  which  was  accompanied  by  the  gunboat  fleet 
under  Admiral  Porter.  On  the  10th  of  January  the  fleet 
attacked  the  forts  and  silenced  the  battery.  Next  morn- 
ing it  re-commenced  the  attack,  and  dismounted  every 
gun — eleven  in  all.  The  troops  attacked  the  work  the  land 
side,  and  after  preliminary  operations  stormed  it  at  one  o'- 
clock, capturing  the  fort  and  garrison,  nearly  ten  thousand 
prisoners,  all  the  guns,  stores,  animals  and  munitions  of' 


68  THE   LIFE   OP 

•war,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Union  troops — the  com- 
mander surrendering  to  Admiral  Porter. 

*  This  operation  removed  a  powerful  enemy  from  the  rear 
of  Grant,  and  enabled  him  to  change  his  base  to  the  west 
side  of  the  Mississippi  river.  During  the.  latter  part  of 
January  his.  headquarters  were  established  at  Young's 
Point,  on  the  Louisiana  shore,  preparatory  to  his  grand 
'  movement  on  Vicksburg. 

General  Grant  had  certainly  fixed  upon  the  plan  to  be 
adopted,  for  the  capture  of  Vicksburg,  long  before  it  de- 
veloped itself;  but  it  was  necessary  to  deceive  the  enemy 
as  to  his  real  object,  in  order  to  carry  it  out  with  success. 
He  therefore  ordered  a  number  of  feints  and  side  expedi- 
tions to  be  entered  upon,  for  the  purpose  of  distracting  the 
attention  of  the  foe  from  his  main  movement ;  and  in  this 
he  succeeded  admirably.  Among  these  expeditions  may 
be  mentioned  those  by  way  of  the  Yazoo  Pass,  Lake  Pro- 
vidence, Steele's  Bayou,  and  the  Williams  Canal — neither 
of  which  were  ever  expected  to  succeed.  Thej,  however 
engaged  the  attention  of  the  rebels,  and  kept  his  troops 
employed,  until  he  was  able  to  make  his  final  grand  move- 
ment. 

The  navy  also  co-operated  in  these  movements  and  di- 
versions ;  and  by  running  the  batteries  and  other  brilliant 
operations,  spread  a  perfect  reign  of  terror  and  anxiety 
among  the  rebel  residents  of  that  region. 

One  expedition,  however,  deserves  more  espejial  men- 
tion than  the  others,  inasmuch  as  it  was  the  first  successful 
one  Of  the  kind  during  the  war.  This  was  the  cavalry 
expedition  under  Colonel  (since  General)  Grierson.  On 
the  17th  of  April  1803,  three  regiments  of  cavalry  lei't 
Lagrange,  at  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  started 
southwards,  upon  a  raid  through  the  rebel  lines  from  Gen- 
eral Grant's,  department  to  that  of  General  Banks.  A 
part  of  the  forces  returned  ;  but  the  main  column  travelled 
over  eight  hundred  miles  through  an  enemy's  country ;  suc- 
ceeded in  destroying  two  locomotives,  and  about  two  hun- 
dred cars ;  burned  or  otherwise  injured  nine  bridges ;  broke 


ULYSSES  SIMFSOX   GRANT.  C9 

up  and  destroyed  the  trades  of  three  railroads  and  severed 
two  lines  of  telegraph  wire;  destroyed  three  rebel  camps, 
and  as  many  important  mails;  burned  a  tannery;  took 
over  a  thousand  prisoners,  and  captured  over  twelve  hun- 
dred horses;  making  a  destruction  of  valuable  property 
to  an  amount  equal  to  four  millions  of  dollars,  exclusive 
of  its  especial  .value  to  the  army  at  that  time.  Griersou 
found  the  rebel  defensive  lines  to  be  a  mere  shell  which 
when  pierced  was  all  but  empty  on  the  inside.  This  cav- 
alry expedition  not  only  diverted  the  rebels'  attention ; 
but  also  succeeded  in  severing  their  communications,  there- 
by greatly  aiding  General  Grant  in  his  subsequent  opera- 
tions. Several  cavalry  expeditions  were  started  from  other 
points  and  were  carried  out  with  varied  success ;  that  of 
Colonel  Streight's  from  the  army  of  the  Cumberland,  prov- 
ing a  failure — he  and  his  whole  party  being  captured. 

During  the  latter  part  of  March  and  before  the  depart- 
ure of  Grierson's  column,  Grant  commenced  moving  his 
army  along  the  Louisiana  shore  of  the  Mississippi  River  to 
below  the  line  of  Vicksburg,  capturing  the  village  of 
Richmond  on  March  30th,  and  then  pushing  on  to  New 
Carthage  nearly  opposite  to  Grand  Gulf.  The  march  was 
performed  at  the  worst  season  of  the  year  for  travel,  and 
at  a  time  when  the  roads  were  soft  and  spongy  from  recent 
floods.  Military  stores  and  ammunition  had  to  be  hauled 
in  wagons  over  these  bad  roads  and  many  times,  were 
drawn  by  hand,  as  were  also  the  field  pieces,  etc. 

The  main  column  was  thus  making  its  way  along  until, 
on  the  morning  of  the  28th  of  April,  it  arrived  at  the 
Mississipi  river,  opposite  Grand  Gulf,  where  it  was  em- 
barked on  the  transports  which  had  under  the  cover  of 
night  run  by  the  batteries  of  Vicksburg  for  that  purpose. 
Under  the  protection  of  the.  gunboats  the  troops  were 
moved  into  the  middle  of  the  stream,  ready  to  disembark 
when  the  works  should  be  reduced;  but  in  consequence  of 
the  strength  of  the  rebel  batteries,  the  troops  were  unable 
to  effect  a  landing  at  any  point  between  Vicksburg  and 
Grand  Gulf.  It  was  therefore  resolved  upon  by  General 


70  THE   LIFE  OP 

Grant  to  march  his  forces  further  overland,  until  they  had 
reached  a  point  below  the  Grand  Gulf  batteries ;  and 
then  re-embark  and  transport  them  across  the  river  to  a 
point  where  they  might  effect  a  landing.  The  men  were 
therefore  disembarked ;  and  the  empty  vessels  were  sent 
down  the  stream  to  run  the  fire  from  the  batteries,  which 
they  succeesfully  passed.  On  the  morning  of  April  30th, 
the  troops  were  re-embarked ;  transported  to  the  other 
side  of  the  river,  and  landed  on  the  shore  at  Bruinsburg, 
several  miles  below  Vicksburg. 

Meanwhile,  a  feint  attempt  was  to  be  made  by  a  column 
under  General  Sherman,  as  if  to  land  a  force  of  troops 
north  of  Vicksburg  by  way  of  the  Yazoo  River.  The 
landing  was  effected  on  April  29th  and  30th,  in  full  view 
of  the  enemy,  who  made  every  demonstration  of  an  inten- 
tion to  resist  the  movement ;  but  after  a  great  deal  of  noise 
and  bustle,  the  troops  were  rc-embarkcd,  General  Sher- 
man having  received  an  order  from  General  Grant  to 
hasten  and  rejoin  him  at  Grand  Gulf.  Sherman's  forces 
were  then  carried  back  to  the  Louisiana  shore  where  they 
"were  disembarked,  and  marched  across  the  country  to  a 
point  where  they  could  cross  the  river  to  Grand  Gulf. 

The  column  under  General  Grant  had  during  this  inter- 
val been  making  rapid  progress.  After  landing  at  Bruins- 
burg,  it  pushed  on  to  the  rear  of  Grand  Gulf,  and  as  every 
man  was  in  light  marching  order  the  movements  were  but 
slightly  impeded* 

On  the  next  morning,  May  1st,  the  column  met  the  ene- 
my at  Thompson's  Hills,  thirteen  miles  from  Bruinsburg. 
After  a  sharp  battle  the  rebels  were  defeated  with  great 
loss,  and  the  village  of  Port  Gibson  was  occupied  the  next 
morning  by  the  Union  troops.  General  Grant  was  present 
during  the  battle  and  directed  the  movements  that  fol- 
lowed. The  rebels  had  retreated  over  the  Bayou  Pierre, 
and  had  burned  the  bridge  behind  them  ;  but  Grant's 
troops  soon  followed,  and  a  floating  bridge  speedily  re- 
placed the  one  destroyed.  In  the  afternoon  the  enemy  was 
pursued  across  the  stream;  the  pursuit  being  so  rapid  that 


ULYSS2S   SIMPSON    GRANT,  71 

the  rebels  were  not  able  to  destroy  their  stores,  and  after 
the  Union  troops  had  taken  possession  of  these  supplies 
they  pushed  on  to  the  line  of  the  Black  River. 

On  the  3d  of  May  General  Grant  entered  Grand  Gulf 
which  had  been  evacuated  by  the  enemy,  and  having  made 
it  his  headquarters  prepared  to  land  his  supplies  and  dis- 
tribute them  among  his  command.  He  had  also  told  Gen- 
eral Sherman  to  join  him  at  that  point ;  and  it  was 
necessary  that  he  should  await  his  arrival.  General  Sher- 
man began  his  passage  of  the  river  on  May  6th,  and  before 
the  close  of  the  next  day  had  landed  at  Grand  Gulf  all  his 
troops,  baggage  and  supplies. 

The  retreat  of  the  rebels  up  to  this  date  had  been  dis- 
astrous in  the  extreme  ;  General  Grant  not  allowing  them 
any  time  to  recover  from  their  surprise.  Having  received 
all  the  supplies  and  reinforcements  he  expected  the  Union 
commander  determined  to  move  with  such  rapidity  as 
would  leave  the  enemy  no  time  to  recover  from  any  of  their 
defeats  before  another  would  be  administered  ;  and  there- 
by he  expected  to  cause  demoralization  and  panic  among 
their  ranks.  Leaving  General  Sherman  at  Grand  Gulf  he 
removed  his  headquarters  to  Hankinson's  Ferry,  and  made 
certain  demonstrations  as  if  he  intended  to  advance  upon 
Vicksburg  by  the  Black  River  route.  On  the  morning 
of  the  7th  the  two  columns — the  13th  arid  17th  corps — 
that  had  been  with  General  Grant  were  now  ordered  for- 
ward, while  the  troops  under  General  Sherman — the  15th 
corps — were  to  follow  as  soon  as  ready.  All  the  ferries 
of  the  Black  River  were  closely  guarded,  and  every  effort 
made  to  mislead  the  enemy. 

The  Seventeenth  corps  was  moved  on  May  7th  to  Rocky 
Springs,  and  the  Fifteenth  corps  occupied  the  old  camp 
just  evacuated.  On  the  9th  the  former  pushed  on  to  Utica 
and  the  ICth  the  Thirteenth  corps  marched  to  Five  Mile 
Creek.  On  the  llth  the  Fifteenth  corps  passed  the  Thir- 
teenth and  encamped  at  Auburn,  followed  en  route  by 
the  latter,  which  took  the  road  to  Hall's  Ferry  at  the 
Black  Biver,  arriving  at  that  point  in  the  evening.  At 


72  THE  LIFE   OP 

this  time  the  three  corps  formed  an  immense  line  of  battle 
several  miles  in  extent  with  a  tendency  towards  the  east. 
On  the  same  day  General  Grant  severed  his  connection 
with  the  Grand  Gulf, 

On  the  12th  the  fighting  again  commenced.  The  advance 
of  the  Thirteenth  corps  drove  in  the  pickets  of  the  enemy 
at  Hall's  Perry,  and  after  a  few  hours  fighting,  without 
severe  loss,  the  rebels  witedrew.  The  same  day  the  Fif- 
teenth corps  engaged  the  rebels  on  Fourteen  Mile  Creek 
near  Auburn,  and  after  some  sharp  fighting  the  enemy  fell 
back  to  Raymond.  The  Seventeenth  corps  was,  meanwhile, 
advancing  upon  Raymond  by  another  road,  and  met  the 
rebels  about  two  miles  southwest  of  that  village.  A  con- 
test ensued  in  which  the  enemy  was  severely  beaten  and 
driven  towards  Jackson.  The  Seventeenth  corps  then 
moved  northward  across  the  country  to  Clinton,  where  it 
arrived  on  May  13th.  The  Fifteenth  corps  took  the  va- 
cated position  at  Raymond,  and  both  columns  thus  advanced 
upon  Jackson  in  that  order,  moving  on  nearly  parallel 
lines  to  the  same  point.  As  these  columns  again  advanced 
the  Thirteenth  corps  took  up  its  position  in  the  rear  at 
Raymond. 

The  next  morning,  May  14th,  the  Fifteenth  and  Seven- 
teenth corps  commenced  their  march  in  a  heavy  rain  storm, 
and  along  mirey  roads  towards  Jackson.  The  troops 
"advanced  in  excellent  order,  nearly  fourteen  miles,"  and 
at  noon  the  enemy  was  met  just  outside  of  the  city  of 
Jackson,  and  ready  to  dispute  Grant's  advance.  An 
engagement  ensued,  and  although  the  rebels  were  under 
the  command  of  one  of  their  best  generals,  Joseph  E. 
Johnston,  the  plan  of  battle  was  so  excellent  that  they 
were  defeated  and  driven  through  the  city,  which  was 
occupied  by  the  Union  troops  on  May  14th.  General 
Grant  at  once  removed  his  headquartdrs  to  that  place, 
and  sent  a  dispatch  to  Washington  recording  the  victory. 

As  soon  as  the  city  was  occupied,  all  workshops,  rail- 
roads, bridges,  depots  of  military  supplies,  &c.,  were  de- 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON   GBANT.  73 

stroyed  ;  and  this  work  employed  part  of  the  forces  during 
the  forenoon  of  May  15th. 

General  Grant,  having  ascertained  in  Jackson  that  the 
rebels  had  resolved  upon  a  certain  plan  of  action,  deter- 
mined to  thwart  their  designs.  General  Pemberton,  who 
commanded  the  rebel  forces  in  Vicksburg,  had  been  or- 
dered by  General  Johnston  to  move  out  of  that  place  and 
attack  Grant's  army  in  the  rear,  while  he  engaged  it  in  the 
front.  Grant  having  defeated  Johnston  before  Pember- 
ton could  arrive,  had  somewhat  altered  the  rebel  plan ; 
but  still  Pemberton  was  advancing  towards  Jackson. 
Grant  therefore  ordered  the  Seventeenth  corps  to  retrace 
its  steps  to  Clinton  an  the  Vicksburg  and  Jackson  rail- 
road, and  the  Thirteenth  corps  to  march  northward  from 
Raymond  towards  the  same  line  of  travel.  The  Thirteenth 
corps  reached  JBolton  on  the  morning  of  the  15th  and 
captured  that  place  with  its  garrison.  The  Seventeenth 
corps  passed  through  Clinton  the  same  day  en  route  west- 
ward ly,  and  General  Grant,  the  same  afternoon,  had  his 
headquarters  in  that  village.  General  Grant  always 
moved  with  his  army ;  never  hesitating  to  go  to  any  point 
where  he  had  ordered  his  troops. 

Next  morning  the  Thirteenth  Corps  moved  towards  Ed- 
ward's Station,  closely  followed  by  the  Seventeenth  Corps. 
The  rebels  were  met  near  the  place  and  an  engagement 
ensued,  which  resulted  in  the  battle  of  Champion's  Hill, 
on  May  16th,  and  a  victory  for  Grant's  army.  The 
enemy  retreated  across  the  Black  River,  with  the  Union 
forces  in  close  pursuit.  The  Fifteenth  Corps,  which 
had  left  Jackson  on  the  morning  of  the  IGth  of  May,  by 
forced  marches  reached  Bolton  on  the  same  day,  and  next 
day  at  noon  was  at  Bridgeport  on  the  Black  river.  Gen- 
eral Grant  had  provided  for  the  means  of  crossing  that 
water  course,  having  sent  the  pontoon  train  by  another 
route,  therefore  no  delay  was  experienced  by  the  troops 
on  their  arrival  at  Bridgeport.  The  rebels,  who  had  fall- 
en back  from  Champion's  Hill,  had  taken  up  a  strong  pos- 
ition on  both  sides  of  the  Black  river,  below  Bridgeport, 


74  THE   LIFE  OP 

and  their  camps  were  connected  by  the  railroad  bridge 
across  that  stream.  The  river  could  not  be  forded  at  that 
point,  and  the  spot  had  been  well  selected  as  their  camps 
could  not  easily  be  turned  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  The 
Thirteenth  Corps  having  followed  the  rebels  in  their  re- 
treat, now  attacked  them  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the 
river,  and  the  enemy  on  the  western  shore,  finding  that  the 
other  camp  must  be  taken,  severed  the  connection  between 
them  by  firing  the  bridge,  thus  cutting  off  the  retreat  of 
their  friends  in  the  hope  of  delaying  Grant's  advance. 
The  eastern  camp  was  therefore  captured,  and  all  the  men 
taken  prisoners,  after  a  spirited  engagement  on  May  17th. 

During  that  night  floating  bridges  were  constructed,  and 
over  these  the  Thirteenth  and  Seventeenth  Corps  crossed 
the  river,  on  the  direct  line  to  Vicksburg,  while  the  Fif- 
teenth Corps  crossed  the  same  stream  at  Bridgeport. 
Thus  the  whole  army,  notwithstanding  their  recent  battles, 
were  advancing  at  the  same  time,  in  three  columns,  right, 
left  and  centre,  in  the  direction  of  the  fortified  city  of 
Vicksburg. 

During  the  advance,  the  Fifteenth  Corp?  turned  aside 
and  took  possession  of  Walnut  Hills,  thereby  opening  com- 
munication with  the  Yazoo  river,  and  obtaining  a  new  base 
of  supplies.  The  enemy  occupying  the  works  on  these 
hills,  finding  Grant  in  their  rear,  at  once  evacuated  them, 
and  the  Union  troops  speedily  took  possession.  The  Sev- 
enteenth Corps  then  occupied  the  position  vacated  by  the 
Fifteenth,  and  the  Thirteenth  marched  to  St.  Albans,  thus 
the  three  corps  occcpied  the  ground  around  Vicksburg,  as 
far  as  their  number  would  allow. 

On  May  19th,  1863,  Vicksburg  was  nearly  invested. 
An  assault  was  made  on  that  day  by  the  Fifteenth  Corps 
upon  the  rebels'  outer  works,  but  being  unsupported  the 
troops  did  but  little  more  than  secure  an  advanced  posi- 
tion, although  the  assault  was  of  the  most  gallant  kind. 
The  fight  lasted  until  dark,  when  the  assaulting  column 
was  withdrawn  to  bivouac  for  the  ni^ht. 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT.  75 

The  supplies  having  been  furnished  by  way  of  the  Yazoo 
River,  the  troops  were  recruited  from  the  fatigues  of  the 
previous  three  weeks,  and  preparations  were  made  for  a 
vigorous  assault  upon  the  defences  of  the  city.  The  heavy 
guns  opened  on  May  20th,  but  elicited  no  reply ;  while,  at 
the  same  time,  the  skirmishers  were  pushed  forward  to 
within  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  of  the  enemy's  works. 
Skirmishing  ensued  along  the  whole  line,  but  no  general 
engagement  until  the  morning  of  May  22d,  when  General 
Grant  resolved  to  make  another  assault  upon  the  enemy's 
position. 

General  Grant  gave  as  one  of  the  reasons  why  he  or- 
dered this  assault  that  he  was  derirous  of  securing  the 
place  without  calling  for  moi-e  forces  ;  as  if  he  could  have 
done  so  he  might  have  been  able  to  have  carried  on  a 
complete  campaign  in  that  vicinity  before  the  favorable 
season  ended.  He  further  stated  that  he  was  sure  that, 
if  repulsed,  the  men  would  the  more  willing  work  in. 
the  trenches,  as  they  would  then  know  the  defences  could 
not  be  taken  by  storm. 

The  attack  was  ordered  for  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  the  22<J,  at  which  hour,  under  cover  of  artillery,  the 
men  charged  upon  the  works  with  fixed  bayonets.  The 
charge  was  made  along  the  whole  line,  General  Grant 
holding  a  position  in  the  centre  where  he  could  have  a 
clear  view  of  nearly  the  etirne  field. 

The  outer  works  were  breached  by  the  artillery  in  sev- 
eral places,  and  slope  and  ditch  were  carried  at  the  point 
of  the  bayonet.  The  Union  flag  was  planted  on  the 
bastions  of  several  parts  of  the  line,  and  the  assault  was  a 
gallant  one.  But  the  defences  were  too  strong  and  far  too 
well  planted  to  be  thus  taken.  One  line  of  works  covered 
another,  and  when  the  first  was  taken  the  assaulting 
column  found  itself  under  the  fire  from  the  inner  line. 
Vicksburg  was  by  nature  a  strong  place,  being  built  on  a 
series  of  hills  or  bluffs,  facing  the  river,  with  rugged 
ground  running  inland  ;  and  art,  under  the  direction  of 


76  THE  LIFE  OP 

very  skilful  engineer*?,  had  made  it  still  stronger,  until  it 
was  now  nearly  impregnable. 

When  the  troops  found  they  were  repulsed  they  did  not 
despair  of  success,  but  settled  themselves  down  with  a  de- 
termination to  reduce  the  place  by  means  of  the  spade- - 
that  being  the  plan  then  settled  upon  by  General  Grant. 

Under  the  influence  of  the  less  violent  though  none  the 
loss  deadly  implements  of  warfare,  the  parallel  gradually 
but  surely  approached  Vicksburg  ;  and  Pemberton's  rebel 
forces  were  penned  up  within  the  walls  built  by  them- 
selves. The  navy  by  the  river  and  the  army  in  the  rear, 
kept  up  a  continued  and  vigorous  shelling  of  the  place, 
until  the  inhabitants  had  to  dig  caves  and  burrow  in  the 
ground  to  save  their  lives.  The  supplies  to  the  city  were 
cut  off  as  well  as  every  meas  of  communication  with 
General  Johnston's  forces  at  Canton,  and  the  investment  of 
the  city  was  complete— reinforcements  having  been  sent  to 
Grant  for  that  purpose. 

To  prevent  General  Johnston  from  inflicting  any  serious 
disaster  upon  Grant's  working  parties,  expeditions  were 
sent  to  the  rear  to  discover  his  whereabouts.  Although 
ol'tiuics  threatening  to  annihilate  the  whole  of  Grants' 
army,  he  always  appeared  to  avoid  any  engagement  even 
with  a  small  portion  of  the  same  ;  therefore  the  seige  pro- 
ceeded steadily  but  surely.  The  rebels  in  Vicksburg  had 
stated  that  they  placed  their  full  reliance  in  the  Lord, 
and  expected  Johnston  to  come  to  their  relief. 

General  Grant  while  writing  to  General  Sherman  the 
commander  of  one  of  these  expeditions — intimated  that  "as 
they  seemed  to  place  their  reliance  in  the  Lord  and  Joe 
Johnston,  it  would  be  necessary  to  defeat  the  latter  at 
least  fifteen  miles  off;"  and  gave  his  orders  accordingly. 

About  the  middle  of  June,  1863,  a  portion  of  Grant's 
army  was  selected  to  dig  a  mine  under  the  rebel  works  of 
Vicksburg;  and  the  utmost  secrecy  was  kept  as  to  the  move- 
ment. On  June  25th,  the  work  was  complete,  the  powder 
deposited,  and  preparations  made  to  fire  the  same.  At  a 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON   GRANT.  77 

given  signal  the  match  was  applied,  and  one  of  the  forts, 
with  men,  cannon,  and  stores,  was  blown  high  in  the  air. 
The  explosion  was  a  signal  for  an  assault  and  a  general  artil- 
lery discharge  along  the  whole  line ;  and  during  the  con- 
fusion the  outer  works  were  taken.  General  activity  was 
manifested  by  the  troops  along  the  whole  of  Grant's  front, 
and  during  that  night  the  troops  slept  on  their  arms  ready 
fur  any  emergency. 

All  that  night  a  vigorous  shelling  of  the  city  was  kept 
up  both  by  the  army  and  navy ;  and  the  enemy  was  not 
allowed  to  rest.  The  shells  were,  however,  fired  with  the 
intention  of  striking  among  the  ranks  of  the  rebel  troops ; 
General  Grant  having  no  desire  to  injure  the  city  proper. 

The  works  of  the  Union  forces  had  by  the  end  of  June, 
1863,  approached  so  close  to  those  of  the  enemy  that  it  be- 
came even  dangerous  to  look  over  the  parapet  on  either 
side.  The  bombardment  still  continued  and  preparations 
were  made  for  a  grand  assaultou  July  6th.  On  July  3d, 
General  Pemberton  doubtless  being  aware  of  the  result  of 
such  an  assault,  sent  a  message  to  General  Grant  request- 
ing an  armistice  with  a  view  of  negotioting  terms  of  sur- 
render ;  but  the  latter  would  accept  of  no  other  terms 
than  "  an  unconditional  surrender  of  the  city  and  garri- 
son," although  he  finally  consented  to  meet  General  Pem- 
berton on  neutral  ground  and  consult  with  him  as  to  the 
details.  The  meeting  took  place  outside  of  the  works  of 
both  armies,  at  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  of  July  3d, 
no  decisive  arrangement  being  made,  before  parting  ;  but 
subsequent  communications  in  writing,  resulted  in  the 
garrison  being  allowed  to  march  out  with  the  honors  of 
war,  that  is,  officer?  to  retain  their  side  arras,  and  mount- 
ed officers  one  horse  each  ;  the  men  to  march  out  by 
brigade,  with  their  arms  and  colors,  and  stack  the  same  in 
front  of  the  works  ;  the  whole  garrison  then  to  be  paroled 
and  allowed  to  depart. 

This  generosity  to  the  conquered,  plainly  showed  that 
Grant  was  not  only  a  great  soldier,  but  had  also  the  heart 


78  THE   LIFE   OP 

and  feelings  of  a  man.  He  even  allowed  the  plan  of  sur- 
render to  be  carried  out  without  any  person  to  superin- 
tend it  on  his  part ;  wishing  to  allow  the  fallen  enemy  all 
the  courtesy  in  his  power. 

Shortly  after  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  July  4,  1863, 
the  rebel  garrison  under  General  Pemberton  was  surren- 
dered to  the  Federal  authorities,  and  with  it  the  city  of 
Vicksburg  with  all  its  armament  and  stores.  The  Union 
troops  then  occupied  the  city ;  General  Grant  riding  into 
it  with  a  cigar  in  his  mouth. 

The  result  of  the  campaign  was  the  defeat  of  the  enemy  | 
in  five   battles   outside  of  Vicksburg,  the   occupation  of  ^ 
Jackson,  and  the  capture  of  Vicksburg  with  its  garrison 
and  munitions  of  war.     The  rebels  lost  about  37,000  pris- 
oners, among  whom  were  fifteen  general  officers,  and  ten 
thousand  killed   and  wounded,  including  three   generals 
killed.     Arms  and  munitions  of  war  for  sixty  thousand 
Dion   and   an  immense   amount   of  government   property 
were  captured  by  Grant,  while  avery  large  amount  was 
destroyed   to   prevent  it  falling   into  the  hands  of  the  § 
Union  troops. 

The  Union  loss  in  the  campaign  from  May  1st  to  the 
surrender  was  but  1,246  killed  7,095  wounded  and  537 
missing. 

The  results  of  the   campaign  were   glorious  in  the  ex- 
treme.    Ninety  siege  guns,  over  a  hundred  field  pieces  and    > 
nearly  forty  thousand  muskets  and  riQcs  were  captured  in 
Vicksburg.     The  quantity  of  working  tools  secured  were 
surprising. 

For  this  glorious  victory,  and  for  the  skill  with  which 
he  managed  the  campaign  General  Grant  was  promoted  to 
the  rank  of  Major-General  of  the  Regular  Army  to  date 
from  July  4,  1863. 

One  of  "  old  Abe's  good  jokes  "  is  said  to  have  origin- 
ated from  this  success. 

"  A  committee  took  it  upon  themselves  to  visit  the  Pre- 
sident, and  urge  the  removal  of  General  Grant  about  the 
time  of  his  Vicksburg  campaign. 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON   GRANT,  79 

"  What  for  ?  '  said  Mr.  Lincoln. 

"  Why  "  replied  the  busybodies  "  he  drinks  too  much 
whisky." 

"  Ah,"  rejoined  the  President,"  can  you  tell  me  where 
he  gets  his  whisky  ?" 

The  committee  confessed  they  could  not. 

"  Because,"  added  Old  Abot  with  a  merry  twinkle  in 
his  eyes,  "  if  I  can  find  out,  I'll  send  every  general  in  the 
field  a  barrel  of  it." 

The  committee  left.* 

Four  days  after  the  fall  of  Vicksburg,  Port  Hudson 
surrendered  to  General  Banks—  the  capture  of  the  former 
necessitating  the  fall  of  the  latter.  The  Mississippi  River 
was  now  opened  from  its  headwaters  to  its  mouth,  and  the 
victory  was  Grant's. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

GRANT   AS   MAJOR-GENERAL   OP    REGULARS. 

The  pursuit  of  Joe  Johnston — Second  capture  of  Jackson — Movements 
and  reorganization— Further  enlarged  command — Headquarters  nt  Chatta- 
nooga— Lookout  Vul/cij — Three  days'  battles  at  Chattanooga — How  Long- 
street  was  outgeneraled — Honors  to  the  victor,  frc. 

As  soon  as  Vicksburg  had  surrendered  General  Grant 
sent  all  his  available  forces  in  pursuit  of  General  John- 
ston's army.  The  pursuing  column  was  placed  under  the 
command  of  General  Sherman  ;  and  on  July  6th,  the 
Union  troops  were  below  Jackson,  where  Johnston  had 
made  a  stand.  Gradually  General  Sherman  invested  the 
place  until  but  one  avenue  of  escape  remained  ;  and  this 
too  would  soon  have  also  been  cut  off  had  not  Johnston 
left  the  city  in  haste  under  the  cover  of  a  sortie.  The 
rebel  attack  was  made  during  a  dense  fog;  but  was  firmly 
resisted.  On  the  night  of  July  16th,  the  rear  guard  of 

*  See  Old  Abe's  Jokes,  page  98— Published  by  Dawley. 


80  THE  LIFE  OP 

the  enemy  left  Jackson  by  the  eastern  road,  and  the  Union 
troops  took  possession  next  morning. 

The  city  was  then  dismantled  of  everything  that  could 
be  made  of  use  to  the  enemy  and  the  army  began  to  rest 
from  their  labors. 

Meantime  General  Grant  remained  at  Vicksburg,  and 
was  engaged  in  re-organizing  and  resting  his  forces  ;  clear- 
ing out  the  various  little  garrisons  that  occupied  the  small 
posts  around  ;  regulating  trade  with  the  conquered  States ; 
distributing  troops  about  and  forming  military  districts ; 
and  in  the  performance  of  other  duties  incident  to  his  posi- 
tion— the  details  of  which  would  alone  fill  a  volume. 

On  August  25th,  General  Grant  visited  Memphis,  where 
he  was  received  with  great  honor  and  enthusiasm,  and  was 
tendered  a  public  dinner.  That  same  evening  he  left  for 
Vicksburg  and  after  an  interview  with  his  district  com- 
mander at  that  post,  he  pushed  for  New  Orleans  where  he 
paid  a  visit  to  General  Banks,  and  reviewed  the  troops. 
During  the  review  of  September  4th,  being  mounted  on  a 
strange  horse,  he  *  was  suddenly  thrown  with  great 
violence  to  the  ground,  and  severely  injured.  This  was 
considered  a  sad  calamity,  as  it  had  been  intended  to  have 
invested  him  with  a  large  command  on  his  return  from 
New  Orleans.  As  it  was,  the  proposed  movement  of  the 
troops  had  to  be  made  without  him,  and  resulted  in  disas- 
ter at  Chickamauga. 

As  soon  as  General  Grant  was  able  to  travel  he  left 
New  Orleans ;  and  proceeding  by  the  Mississippi  river 
arrived  at  Cairo.  Meantime  General  Sherman's  com- 
mand had  been  ordered  to  relieve  the  imperiled  garrison 
at  Chattanooga,  and  was  then  marching  overland  toward 
that  city.  This  march  was  performed  amid  the  greatest 
dangers  from  guerrillas  and  others  operating  in  front  and 
rear. 

General  Grant  was  next  about  to  proceed  East;  but 
while  en  route  received  a  telegram  from  the  Secretary  of 
War  to  await  the  arrival  of  the  latter  at  Indianapolis.  It 
was  not  long  before  they  met,  and  after  the  usual  greet- 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT.  81 

ings,  the  Secretary  presented  General  Grant  with  the  Pre- 
sident's order  authorizing  him  to  take  command  of  the 
three  departments  of  the  Ohio,  the  Cumberland  and  the 
Tennessee,  under  the  title  of  "  the  Military  Division  of 
the  Mississippi,"  with  head  quarters  in  the  field.  This 
gave  General  Grant  control  over  all  the  country  bounded 
on  the  north  by  the  Ohio  river,  on  the  west  by  the  Mis- 
sissippi river,  on  the  east  by  the  mountains,  with  a  line  to 
be  conquered  on  the  south.  On  October  18th,-  while  at 
Louisville,  General  Grant  assumed  command  of  this  vast 
territory  and  the  troops  within  its  limits ;  and  then  pro- 
ceeded by  way  of  Louisville  and  Nashville  to  his  head- 
quarters at  Chattanooga.  He  had  now  under  him  one  of 
the  largest  military  commands  in  the  United  States,  con- 
sisting of  four  armies,  comprising  nine  corps,  or  twenty 
seven  divisions  of  troops,  besides  all  the  reserves  and  re- 
cruits at  the  various  camps  and  outposts. 

Although  Grant  was  still  laboring  under  the  effects  of 
his  injuries,  he  was  too  much  interested  in  the  affairs  of  his 
^country  and  of  the  departments  over  which  he  held  com- 
mand, to  stay  long  idle  at  Louisville.  He  had  made  his 
plans,  and  started  off  to  Nashville,  where  he  arrived  on 
October  21st  After  a  short  delay  he  proceeded  to  Chat- 
tanooga where  he  arrived  on  October  23d — seven  days 
aftcj  he  had  assumed  the  command.  He  found  the  mili- 
tary affairs  of  that  city  in  a  very  bad  condition,  and  ho 
set  about  re-organizing  the  same.  He  also  found  the  only 
means  of  supplying  the  troops  was  with  wagons  over  bad 
roads,  the  railroad  lines  and  the  river  being  commanded 
by  the  rebel  guns.  Horses  were  being  literally  starved  to 
death,  and  the  men  were  on  short  rations.  Everything 
was  disheartening.  But  Grant  no  sooner  appeared  than, 
as  if  by  magic,  a  change  was  soon  effected.  He  had  left 
directions  with  the  commanders  in  his  rear  for  expeditions 
against  the  raiders;  and  he  personally  organized  a  move- 
ment against  the  forces  of  the  enemy  that  commanded  the 
approaches  by  way  of  the  river.  To  open  that  route  was 
necessary  to  enable  the  supply  vessels,  which  he  had  or- 


82  THE   LIFE   OP 

dered  up,  to  reach  a  point  where  he  could  land  the  sup- 
plies and  transport  them  to  Chattanooga ;  and  as  he  had 
already  ordered  forward  an  outside  co-operating  force,  he, 
on  the  23t!i  of  October  sent  another,  but  smaller  body  of 
troops  from  Chattanooga,  for  the  purpose  of  clearing  the 
•way.  The  movement  was  a  success,  and  the  valley  at  the 
foot  of  Lookout  mountain,  was  thrown  open  to  the  use  of 
Grant's  forces  ;  and  supplies  now  came  forward  rapidly. 

Shortly  after  this  had  been  accomplished  President  Davis 
visited  the  rebel  army  under  General  Bragg;  and  while 
on  Lookout  mountain,  he  expressed  a  belief  that  the  troops 
under  Grant  were  in  a  trap,  and  must  succumb  to  the 
superior  position  of  tiic  rebel  forces,  which  occupied  all  the 
heights  around  Chatanooga.  General  Pemberton,  who 
had  learned  experience  at  Vicksburg  as  to  what  Grant's 
soldiers  could  do,  at  once  dissented  from  President  Davis's 
opinion,  and  asserted  that  any  attempt  to  drive  Grant 
from  that  valley  would  end  disastrously  to  the  rebel  army. 
Davis  thought  differently  and  ordered  General  Longstrcet 
to  make  a  flank  movement  into  Tennessee,  ami  capture 
Knoxville,  thereby  getting  into  General  Grant's  rear; 
when,  as  Davis  argued,  General  Bragg  could  make  an  ad- 
vance from  his  position,  and  crush  Grant  between  the  two 
forces. 

The  plan  was  a  pretty  one ;  but  a  fair  estimate  had  not 
been  made  of  Grant's  generalship.  As  soon  as  that  officer 
had  ascertained  that  Longstreet  was  really  making  the 
movement,  he  ordered  the  commander  of  the  forces,  who 
was  watching  his  advance,  to  fall  back  gradually  to  Knox- 
ville and  draw  Longstreet  so  far  l'ro:n  Chattanooga  that 
it  would  be  impossible  for  him  to  retrace  his  steps  in  time 
to  assist  Bragg  when  attacked. 

General  Bragg  had  no  sooner  heard  of  the  rapid  for- 
ward movement  of  General  Longstrcet's  forces,  than  he, 
conceiving  the  rebel  President's  plan  to  have  been  a  suc- 
cessful one,  sent  a  message  to  General  Grant  stating  that 
he  thought  it  would  "  be  prudent  for  him  to  remove  all 
non-combatants  from  the  city  of  Chattanooga;"  thereby 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON   GRANT.  83 

intimating  to  that  officer  his  intention  of  attacking  the 
place.  To  this  General  Grant  returned  no  answer ;  but 
as  soon  as  Longstreet  had  been  drawn  far  enough  away, 
he  ordered  the  troops  under  his  immediate  .command  to 
make  an  advance.  Longstreet  was  then  below  Knoxville, 
which  had  been  extensively  fortified  and  made  capable  of 
resisting  a  heavy  assault.  On  Monday,  November  23d,  a 
reconnoissance  in  force  was  made  from  the  centre  of  Grant's 
army;  and  before  the  rebels  were  aware  that  the  movement 
was  in  earnest,  the  heights  of  Orchard  Knob  were  in 
Grant's  posession 

The  next  day  at  daylight,  the  left  of  Grant  s  army  had 
made  a  movement,  and  by  nightfall  the  extremity  of  Mis- 
sion Ridge  was  aloo  in  Grant's  hands. 

On  the  right  another  force  scaled  the  slopes  of  Lookout 
mountain,  and  from  the  valley  of  Lookout  creek  drove  the 
rebels  around  the  point.  Over  two  hundred  prisoners  were 
taken  during  this  operation  and  the  Union  troops  estab- 
lished themselves  high  up  the  mountain  side  in  full  view 
of  Chatanocga.  This  position  commanded  the  river,  and 
steamers  could  now  run  up  to  Chatauooga.  By  nightfall 
this  height  was  also  in  Grant's  hands. 

All  that  night  the  heights,  right  and  left,  blazed  with 
the  fires  of  Union  troops.  During  the  whole  day  General 
Grant  had  been  under  fire,  riding  about  superintending  the 
movements  of  his  forces. 

At  daylight  on  the  25th  the  glorious  "  Stars  and  Stripes  " 
waved  from  the  extreme  point  of  Lookout  mountain — the 
rebels  having  fled  during  the  night.  The  valley  of  Chat- 
anooga  had  been  abandoned. 

During  the  morning  oi'  the  25th  the  artillery  from 
Wood's  jedoubt  and  Orchard  Knob  opened  upon  the  rebel 
centre  on  Mission  Ridge;  their  missiles  flying  over  the 
heads  of  General  Grant  and  other  officers  who  were  watch- 
ing their  movements  in  the  valley.  The  headquarters 
were  under  fire  all  day  long.  On  the  left  the  roar  of  ar- 
tillery was  still  to  be  heard,  and  the  heights  were  there 
carried,  taken  and  retaken  ;  but  the  main  assault  was  to 


84  THE   LIFE   OP 

be  in  the  centre.  At  a  given  signal  the  line  of  battle, 
two  miles  in  length,  pushed  forward  at  that  point  and  car- 
ried everything  before  them.  Up  the  steep  sides  of  the 
ridge  rushed  the  impetuous  soldiery  in  the  advance,  and 
being  well  supported,  the  whole  lino  stormed  the  heights 
upon  which  were  posted  forty  pieces  of  the  enemy's  artil- 
lery. With  cheer  upon  cheer  the  men  rushed  upward. 
Color  after  color  was  planted  upon  the  summit,  while  mus- 
ket and  cannon  of  the  foe  poured  their  deadly  contents 
upon  the  assaulting  column.  But  on  they  went,  and  on 
the  very  summit  Grant's  troops  captured  a  gun  which  the 
enemy  had  vainly  attempted  to  carry  off.  The  rebels  fled 
in  disorder,  and  General  Grant  went  forward  and  located 
his  headbtiarters  on  the  summit  of  the  ridge.  The  cap- 
tured artillcrp  was  put  into  position,  and  the  rebel  breast- 
works were  turned  upon  the  enemy,  whose  army  was 
broken  in  pieces  at  that  point  never  to  recover.  Every 
assault  except  one  was  successful ;  and  that  failure  did  more 
to  ensure  victory  than  if  it  had  succeeded. 

The  battle  field  of  Chatanooga  was  many  miles  in  ex- 
tent, six  miles  being  along  Mission  ridge,  and  many  more 
on  Lookout  mountain.  In  three  days  the  whole  field  was 
won.  and  the  victorious  troops  were  soon  in  full  pursuit  of 
the  retreating  columns  of  the  foe. 

After  the  successes  of  November  25th  the  Union  army 
was  put  in  motion,  in  three  columns,  and  taking  the  roads 
leading  south  pushed  forward  to  Ringgold.  At  the  Chick- 
amauga  depot,  while  en  route,  the  Union  troops  captured 
about  fifty  thousand  dollars  worth  of  the  enemy's  stores, 
besides  a  pontoon  train,  two  64  pounder  guns,  twenty  Avag- 
ons,  one  hundred  and  ten  thousand  rations  of  corn  and 
corn  meal,  four  hundred  gallons  of  molasses,  ammunition, 
small  arms  and  other  valuable  army  supplies.  The  depot 
had  been  burned  by  the  retreating  rebels. 

At  Pigeon  Ridge  a  slight  engagement  took  place,  and 
shortly  after  the  three  columns  concentrated,  and  re- 
advanced.  On  Friday  morning,  November  27th,  the  rebels 
were  met  a  short  distance  beyond  Ringgold  and  another 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT.  85 

severe  contest  ensued,  after  which  the  enemy  fell  back  to 
Dalton  and  the  pursuit  was  withdrawn.  General  Brairg, 
finding  Grant  did  not  follow  him  farther,  then  made°a 
stand,  and  telegraphed  the  fact  to  Richmond. 

General  Grant  had  now  secured  the  military  triangle 
which  commanded  the  entrance  to  the  Gulf  States,  and 
also  held  possession  of  a  series  of  the  most  fertile  valleys 
in  the  Southwest. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  during  this  interval,  Long- 
street's  forces  held  the  garrison  of  Kuoxville  invested  in 
that  city.  He  did  not  discover  the  error  he  had  commit- 
ted by  his  march  into  Tennsssee  until  he  heard  of  Bragg's 
defeat;  and  then,  being  desirous  to  retrieve  in  part  that 
disaster,  he  made  an  assault  upon  the  defences  of  Knox- 
villc.  The  attack  upon  Fort  Saunders  took  place  on 
November  29th,  and  was  gallantly  repulsed. 

As  soon  as  the  victory  of  Mission  Ridge  had  been 
effected,  General  Grant  ordered  a  portion  of  his  forces, 
then  at  Chattanooga,  to  march  instantly  for  Knoxville. 
Had  this  movement  been  effected  Longstrcct's  column 
would  have  been  captured  or  annihilated  ;  but  to  the  sur- 
prise of  General  Grant  on  returning  from  following  the 
enemy,  he  found  the  troops  he  had  ordered  forward  still 
in  Chattanooga.  Without  waiting  to  give  the  column  that 
had  been  engaged  in  the  pursuit  any  time  to  rest  he  order- 
ed it  forward  to  the  relief  of  Knoxville ;  and  on  Decem- 
ber 3rd,  the  Union  Cavalry  arrived  at  that  city,  the  other 
forces  gathering  around  on  the  outside.  Longstreet  be- 
coming aware  of  this  advance  of  Grant's  troops,  raised  the 
siege  of  Knoxvilie,  and  took  refuge  in  the  mountain  passes 
of  East  Tennessee.  On  December  7th,  the  telegraph  an- 
nounced the  relief  of  Knoxville. 

Tliese  victories  were  considered  of  such  importance  to 
the  Union  cause,  that  a  day  was  set  apart  by  the  President 
for  thanksgiving  and  praise  to  the  Divine  Creator  for  his 
mercies  and  aid  in  the  accomplishment  thereof. 

The  enemy,  up  to  this  time,  had  pretended  in  their 
journals  to  despise  General  Grant  and  his  plans ;  but  the 


86  THE   LIFE  OP      ' 

grand  victory  at  Chattanooga  had  undeceived  them  at  a 
costly  price.  They  had  called  him  a  fool,  but  the  rebels 
had  to  pay  for  his  folly.  When  President  Lincoln  heard 
that  Grant  had  been  styled  "  a  fool  "  he  said  he  had  no 
objection  to  a  few  more  of  them. 

On  the  assemblage  of  the  United  States  Congress  in 
December  18G3,  it  was  moved  that  a  "medal  be  struck  for 
General  Grant,  and  a  vote  of  thanks  be  given  to  him  and 
the  officers  of  his  army  "  for  the  glorious  series  of  victo- 
ries in  the  Southwest.  The  resolution  was  carried  unani- 
mously, in  both  houses ;  and  became  the  first  act  of 
Congress  of  the  session  18G3-4. 

Another  resolution  was  offered  "  to  revive  the  grade  of 
Lieutenant-General  of  the  Army  " ;  and  after  a  long  de- 
bate relative  to  the  power  of  Congress  to  appoint  the  per- 
son who  should  fill  that  position,  the  grade  was  re-estab- 
lished and  confirmed  by  both  houses  of  Congress — the 
members,  in  their  remarks,  giving  a  strong  expression  to 
their  belief  that  only  General  Grant  should  receive  the 
appointment. 

Religious  and  other  societies  tendered  to  the  victor  of 
Donelson,  Vicksburg  and  Chattanooga  certificates  of 
honary  membership  of  their  bodies,  and  honors  poured  down 
in  a  shower  on  the  hero.  State  Legislatures  presented 
their  thanks,  and  the  Press  advocated  his  nomination  for 
the  Presidency  ;  and  on  all  sides  the  name  of  General 
Grant  was  received  with  praise  and  acclamation. 

General  Grant  having  paid  a  visit  to  St.  Louis  to  see 
his  sick  child,  was  on  January  20 th,  1S(J4,  tendered  a 
public  dinner,  at  which  were  present  all  the  military  and 
civic  dignitaries  of  the  city.  Previous  to  his  going  into 
Missouri  General  Grant  inspected  the  whole  of  the  Mili- 
tary Division  under  his  charge;  and  even  made  a  perilous 
journey  through  Cumberland  Gap,  in  the  winter,  to  ascer- 
tain the  feasibility  of  supplying  his  troops  by  that  route 
during  the  inclement  seasons  of  the  year. 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT.  87 

^  The  bill  appointing  a  Lieutenant-General  of  the  United 
States  Armies  passed  the  Senate  on  the  last  day  of 
February,  1864,  and  on  the  first  day  of  March  was  ap- 
proved and  signed  by  the  President/  On  that  same  day 
the  Chief  Magistrate  nominated  Major-General  Grant  of 
the  United  States  Army  to  fill  the  'position  never  before 
held  in  full  rank  by  any  other  than  Washington  ;  and  on 
March  2d,  1864,  the  Senate  in  Execution  Session  confirm- 
ed the  appointment,  General  Grant  becoming  the  General- 
in-chief  over  all  the  armies  of  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

GRANT    AS    LIEUTENANT-GENERAL. 

ffc  submits  his  plan  of  Campaign — President  Lincoln's  Surprise— 
Activity  of  General  Giant — Simultaneous  movement  to  be  Made — The 
Virrjinia  Campaign — Wilderness — Spottxi/loania  —  Thz  left  flank  operation 
— Coal  Hai'bir — Crossing  the  James — Petersburg — No'th  and  South  side 
Movements— L' ft  Ftanlc  Again — Shcnandoah  Valley  Operations,  8fc. 

As  soon  as  General  Grant  had  been  appointed  to  the 
rank  of  Lieutenaut-Gcneral,  and  invested  with  the  powers 
of  a  General-in-chief,  he  submitted  to  the  President  his 
plan  of  campaign  for  1864,  which  was  for  a  simultaneous 
movement  of  all  the  armies  of  the  United  States  upon  the 
enemy's  positions,  and  for  the  navy  to  co-operate  at  given 
points,  and  at  stated  periods.  An  advance  was  to  be 
made  upon  Atlanta  in  Georgia  by  the  Armies  in  the 
South  West  comprising  k-  the  Military  division  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi ;"  another  to  be  made  up  the  Shenandoah  by  the 
military  forces  in  ';  the  valley;'  a  third  to  be  by  way  of 
Western  Virginia  upon  the  railroad  leading  from  Rich- 
mond &c.  to  East  Tennessee  ;  a  fourth  from  New  Orleans 
npon  Mobile ;  while  the  main  army  in  Virginia  would 
march  across  the  Rapahannock  hi  the  direction  of  Rich- 


88  THE  LIFE  OP 

mond,  a  co-operating  force  to  advance  from  Fortress  Mon- 
roe. All  these  forces  although  widely  separated  were  to 
be  under  the  orders  of  General  Grant ;  but  the  armies 
moving  immediately  upon  Richmond,  would,  in  addition, 
be  under  his  direct  personal  supervision. 

The  plan  was  a  gigantic  one ;  and  was  a  source  of  great 
surprise  to  the  President  and  the  cabinet.  When  General 
Grant  had  left  the  council,  the  President  said : 

"  I  am  indeed  surprised  at  the  magnitude  of  the  plan 
submitted  by  General  Grant;  but  what  causes  me  the 
greatest  wonder  is  his  implicit  confidence  in  being  able  to 
carry  the  scheme  out  in  detail." 

Tiie  plan  being  settled,  the  next  thing  to  be  done  was 
to  carry  it  into  operation.  It  was  necessary  that  there 
should  be  no  mistake,  therefore  General  Grant  decided  to 
place  such  officers  as  he  could  depend  upon  in  the  positions 
of  responsibility.  He  desired  to  have  at  the  head  of  each 
department,  men  in  whom  he  could  trust ;  and  in  several 
instances  succeeded.  In  the  South  West  at  the  head  of 
the  "Military  Division  of  the  Mississippi" — his  recent 
command — he  had  appointed  General  W.  T.  Sherman;  at 
the  head  of  his  old  army  of  the  Tennessee  was  placed  the 
late  General  McPhcrson ;  and  General  Thomas  was  se- 
lected to  lead  the  army  of  the  Cumberland.  In  the  East 
he  re-organized  the  armies  designed  to  move  on  Rich- 
mond, placing  General  Meade  over  the  army  of  the  Poto- 
mac with  young,  energetic  officers  over  the  various  corps, 
and  selecting  General  Sheridan  to  lead  his  cavalry.  He 
visited  the  various  points  of  his  extensive  command — East 
and  West— and  having  definitely  settled  on  the  day  that 
the  movement  was  to  commence,  returned  to  the  armies  in 
Virginia. 

The  beginning  of  May  1864,  inaugurated  the  renewal 
of  active  hostilities.  Cavalry  reeonnoissancos  were  sent 
out  in  every  direction  from  all  the  armies*  Veteran  troops 
at  the  various  outposts  were  transferred  to  what  was  ex- 
pected would  be  the  scene  of  actual  strife,  and  their  places 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON   GRANT.  89 

filled  with  new  levies.  Every  preparation  was  made  for  a 
systematic  movement  of  all  the  various  commands,  and  a 
thorough  and  vigorous  campaign  east,  west  and  south. 

Having  taken  a  superQcial  view  of  operations  under 
General  Grant's  command  as  General-iii-chief,  we  Avill 
now  direct  our  attention  to  his  movements  with  the  spe- 
cial forces  in  Virginia. 

On  the  3d  of  May,  the  cavalry  moved  toward  the  Rap- 
pahannock,  and  on  the  4th  crossed  that  stream,  On  the 
5th  and  6th,  the  battles  of  the  Wilderness  were  fought, 
and  had  it  not  been  for  the  generalship  of  Lieutenant- 
General  Grant,  who  speedily  called  up  his  reserves  and 
brought  them  into  the  fight  on  the  second  day,  the  contest 
would  have  gone  badly  for  the  Union  cause.  As  it  was 
he  changed  the  fortunes  of  the  day  by  his  presence  and 
forethought. 

During  the  night  the  rebels  disappeared  from  Grant's 
front,  and  General  Sheridan,  who  commanded  the  cavalry, 
was  ordered  to  find  the  enemy's  position.  He  found  it, 
and  on  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  Grant's  headquarters 
were  located  south  of  Chancellorsville,  Avherc  it  remained 
during  May  8th.  Meantime  the  rebels  had  taken  up  posi- 
tion at  Spottsylvania,  before  which  the  Union  troops  ap- 
peared on  May  8th.  On  that  and  the  next  two  days  the 
contest  raged  with  fearful  violence- -the  Union  troops  at- 
tacking and  assaulting  the  works  with  fearful  desperation, 
and  with  some  amount  of  loss.  During  the  engagement  of 
the  9th  the  United  States  lost  one  of  its  finest  officers,  and 
General  Grant  one  of  his  best  corps  commanders,  Major 
General  Sedgwick. 

On  May  12th  the  Second  Army  Corps  of  Grant's  army 
made  a  brilliant  capture  at  four  o'clock  in  the  morning. 
Taking  advantage  of  a  storm  and  darkness  of  the  previous 
evening  the  commanding  officer  managed  to  change  the 
position  of  his  troops  unobserved  by  the  enemy,  and  before 
daylight  pounced  upon  the  rebel?,  capturing  an  entire 
division,  including  Major  General  E.  Johnson,  two  bri- 


90  THE   LIFE   OP 

gade  commanders,  over  two  thousand  men  and  about 
forty  cannon. 

Meanwhile  General  Sheridan  at  the  head  of  his  cavalry 
forces  statred  on  his  great  cavalry  raid  to  the  rear  of  Lee's 
rebel  army,  and  on  May  10th,  turned  the  enemy's  right  and 
got  in  their  rear,  where  he  destroyed  from  eight  to  ten 
miles  of  railroad,  two  locomotives,  three  trains,  and  a 
very  large  quantity  of  supplies.  He  also  recaptured  five 
hundred  men  of  Grant's  army,  including  two  colonies,  who 
had  been  taken  prisoners  the  previous  day.* 

The  enemy  had  begun  to  fall  back  from  Grant's  immedi- 
ate front,  arid  all  movements  were  going  on  well,  with  the 
exception  of  the  operations  in  the  Shenandoah  Valley, 
which  had  been  entrusted  to  a  general  who  had  been 
deemed  capable,  but  who  proved  himself  wholly  incapable 
of  performing  the  task  assigned  to  him.  A  new  command- 
er was  therefore  placed  over  the  Vallejr. 

For  the  next  few  days  the  armies  in  Virginia  remained 
somewhat  quiet.  On  the  19th  of  May  the  rebels  under 
Evvell  attempted  to  turn  the  right  of  the  forces  before 
Spottsylvania  ;  but  by  a  gallant  movement  of  the  troops 
the  rebels  were  not  only  repulsed  but  sustained  a  heavy 
loss  in  killed  and  wounded  besides  threo  hundred  prison- 
ers. 

Meanwhile  reinforcements  and  supplies  were  sent  to 
General  Grant,  and  the  army  placed  on  a  splendid  war 
footing  to  enter  on  a  new  campaign.  The  base  of  supplies 
had  been  well  established  at  Fredericksburg,  and  every- 
thing appeared  favorable  for  the  Union  cause. 

Having  thoroughly  supplied  his  army,  General  Grant  cut 
loose  from  his  base  at  Fredericksburg  in  precisely  the 
same  manner  as  ho  performed  that  operation  from  Grand 
Gulf.  He  wished  to  establish  a  new  base ;  and  having 
seen  that  everything  was  in  proper  working  order,  and  the 
supply  vessels  ordered  to  the  new  point  of  debarkation, 
he  ordered  the  advance  of  his  forces  to  commence  his  fa- 

*  For  full  particulars  of  Sheridan's  operations  seo  •'  Larke'a  Life  of 
General  Sheridan,"  price  25  cents.  T.  11.  Dawley,  Publisher. 


ULYSSES  SIlirsON   GRANT.  91 

raous  "  left  flank  movement —  "  first  removing  all  his  sick 
and  wounded  to  the  rear.  The  first  movement  took  place 
on  May  20th,  and  shortly  after  the  rebel  army  also  com- 
menced to  lall  back. 

The  whole  army  then  began  to  move  by  way  of  Guinea's 
Station,  Bowling  Nreen  and  Milford's  Station,  a  section, 
however,  following  the  road  by  way  of  Stannard's  Mill. 
By  this  movement  the  main  array,  taking  the  enemy  by  sur- 
prise, succeeded  in  crossing  the  Mattapony  at  Milford, 
without  much  opposition,  and  encamped  south  of  that  river. 
The  advance  then  pushed  still  further  forward,  and  on 
the  23d  of  May,  the  army  moved  from  its  position  to  the 
North  Anna  river — Lee's  rebel  army  following  the  road 
along  the  right  of  the  Union  army  in  order  to  keep  up  with 
the  movement.  The  Fifth  and  Sixth  corps  marched  by  way 
of  Harris'  Store  to  Jericho  Ford,  where  the  former  suc- 
ceeded in  effecting  a  crossing  and  getting  a  position  with- 
out opposition.  The  movement  was  merely  a  feint,  as  the 
main  movement  was  still  farther  "  to  the  left." 

Shortly  after  the  Fifth  corps  had  taken  up  its  position 
south  of  the  Anna  River,  the  troops  of  it  were  violently  at- 
tacked by  the  rebels;  but  after  a  short  although  sharp  en- 
gagement the  rebels  were  repulsed  with  great  loss  to 
themselves,  and  at  once  began  to  beat  a  retreat. 

Meanwhile  Sheridan's  cavalry  had  been  operating  in  the 
rear  of  the  rebel  army,  cutting  communications  and  creat- 
ing a  great  panic  within  the  rebel  lines. 

It  must  not  be  forgotten  that  the  armies  moving  from 
Fortress  Munroe  had  some  time  before  this  taken  possession 
of  City  Point,  thus  holding  a  base  of  operations  on  the 
James  River.  The  value  of  this  occupation  will  be  seen 
in  connection  with  the  future  movements  of  the  armies  act- 
ing under  Grant's  personal  command. 

On  May  24th  General  Grant's  headquarters  were  located 
on  Mount  Carmel.  During  that  day  his  troops  surprised 
and  captured  nearly  a  thousand  men  without  much  loss  to 
himself.  On  that  night  the  advance  reached  South  Anna^ 


92  THE   LIFE  OP 

river,  where  another  feint  was  made  ;  the  main  army  push- 
ing towards  Hanover  ford  of  the  Pamunky. 

The  next  day  Grant  had  hi:?  headquarters  at  Jericho 
Mills,  and  on  the  25th  at  Quarle's  ford ;  the  advance  of  his 
army  still  pushing  ahead  on  the  left. 

On  the  night  of  the  26th  ,the  army  that  had  been  making 
the  feint  movement  near  Jericho  ford  was  withdrawn 
across  the  North  Anna  river,  and  moved  towards  Hunover- 
town,  for  the  purpose  of  crossing  the  Pamunky  river. 

Next  morning  a  portion  of  General  Sheridan's  cavalry 
took  possession  of  both  Hanovertown  and  ferry  capturing 
several  prisoners.  During  the  day  the  infantry  came  up, 
and  on  May  28th  General  Grant  from  his  headquarters  at 
Magahick  Church  reported  the  main  army  across  the  Pa- 
munky by  noon. 

.  While  thc»e  movements  were  going  on,  the  people  in  the 
peaceful  North  had  not  forgotten  Grant.  A  few  gentle- 
men of  Delaware  purchased  from  the  descendant  of  Wash- 
ington the  gold  medal  presented  to  General  Washington 
by  Congress  on  the  evacuation  of  Boston  by  the  British, 
and  the  only  gold  one  ever  presented  to  him.  The  medal 
was  purchasad  with  the  intention  of  presenting  it  to  Gen- 
eral Grant,  and  cost  these  gentlemen  over  five  thousand 
dollars. 

The  array  having  successfully  crossed  the  Pamunky,  oc- 
cupied a  front  about  three  miles  south  of  the  river. 
Grant  meanwhile  established  his  headquarters  at  Hanover- 
town,  and  his  cavalry  engaged  the  enemy  south  of  Haine's 
store,  driving  him  about  a  mile. 

Another  movement  was  made  still  further  north  by 
Taylor's  ford  in  the  vicinity  of  Hanover  Court  House,  and 
certain  operations  were  carried  out  to  prevent  Lea  IVotn 
returning  North  by  that  route  should  Grant  leave  the  way 
uncovered  by  troops ;  and  also  to  draw  away  his  atten- 
tion from  the  main  movement  «  on  the  left." 

Meanwhile  a  portion  of  the  forces,  which  had  been  ope- 
rating on  the  James  river  under  General  Butler,  were  or- 


ULYSSES   SIMPSON   GRANT.  93 

dered  to  move  to  tho  White  House  on  the  Pamunky,  and 
there  establish  a  base  of  supplies. 

The  rebels  under  General  Lse  now  bogan  to  make  a 
stand  north  of  the  Chickahominy  river,  south  of  Tulopa- 
to:noy  Creek.  General  Grant  therefore  established  his 
headquarters  at  liawe  s  shop  to  meet  this  rebel  movement. 

On  the  evening  of  May  3.0th,  the  enemy  crossed  over 
Tolopatomoy  Creek  and  attacked  Grant's  advance ;  but 
were  easily  repulsed  with  great  slaughter.  To  relieve  the 
force  assailed,  a  general  attack  was  ordered  along  the 
whole  line,  and  the  enemy  was  driven  from  his  entrenched 
skirmish  line,  which  was  at  once  occupied  near  Shady 
Grove  Church,  and  was  ':  sharp  cheap  and  decisive,'  leav- 
ing a  number  of  prisoners  in  Grant's  hands. 

Sheridan's  Cavalry  had  by  this  time  re-joined  the  main 
armies  and  was  now  operating  on  t'.ie  extreme  left  flank. 

General  Grant  next  opened  his  communication  with  the 
White  House,  and  thus  gained  a  third  new  water  base 
since  the  commencement  of  his  active  campaign.  He  had 
said  he  would  fight  his  way  "  along  that  line  if  it  would 
take  all  summer,"  and  he  had  now  reached  within  a  few 
miles  of  Richmond,  with  a  good  base  of  operations,  with- 
out leaving  the  line  he  had  started  upon.  He  had,  by  his 
left  flank  movement,  neutralized  all  the  heavy  works  built 
by  the  rebels  north  of  Richmond  to  stop  the  advance  of  a 
"  Yankee  Army :"  and  he  had  destroyed  all  means  of 
Lee's  main  array  again  threatening  Washington  by  way  of 
the  Rappahannock,  at  least  for  some  time. 

On  May  31tt,  General  Sheridan,  perceiving  a  force  of 
rebel  cavalry  under  Fitz  Hugh  Lee  at  Cold  Harbor,  at- 
tacked, and  after  a  hard  fight  routed  it,  together  with  a 
brigade  of  infantry  sent  to  his  support.  Sheridan  re- 
mained in  possession  of  the  place  and  held  it  until  relieved 
by  the  infantry.* 

Next  afternoon,  June  1st,  the  infantry  relieved  tho 
Cavalry,  and  a  line  of  battle  was  established,  in  which 
order  the  five  corps  now  attached  to  Grant's  army  pre- 

*See  "  Life  of  Sheridan  "  for  farther  particulars,  price  25  cents. 


94  THE   LIFE   OP 

pared  for  active  operations.  About  five  o'clock  in  the 
evening  an  attack  was  made,  with  spirit,  upon  the  enemy's 
works,  resulting  in  their  being  carried  on  the  right  of 
Cold  Harbor,  and  partially  carried  on  the  left  Several 
hundred  prisoners  were  taken  by  Grant's  army  during  the 
fight. 

During  the  night  the  enemy  made  several  attempts  to 
gain  the  lost  works,  but  failed. 

On  Tuesday,  June  3d,  at  about  half  past  four  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  General  Grant  made  a  severe  assault  on  the 
enemy's  lines,  driving  the  rebels  within  his  entrenchments 
at  all  points  ;  but  without  gaining  any  decisive  advantage. 
The  two  armies  were  at  night  very  near  each  other — some 
places  only  fifty  yards  apart— and  desertious  were  taking 
place  in  large  bodies — five  hundred  and  ten  Georgian  sol- 
diers surrendering  as  deserters  in  one  body. 

A  sharp  fight  of  half  an  hour's  duration  took  place  on 
the  evening  of  June  3d,  in  consequence  of  the  enemy  mak- 
ing an  attack  upon  Grant.  The  attack  was  gallantly 
repulsed. 

Next  morning  the  enemy's  left  wing  was  found  to  have 
been  withdrawn  during  the  night.  General  Grant  there- 
fore made  certain  dispositions  for  future  active  move- 
ments. 

On  Monday,  June  6th,  there  was  some  slight  fighting 
at  diffeient  points  of  the  line,  but  no  serious  engagement. 
Meanwhile  certain  operations  were  being  carried  out  by 
the  new  commander  in  the  Shcnandoah  Valley,  and  also 
on  the  South  side  of  the  James  River. 

General  Sheridan  was  also  detached  from  the  main 
army,  and  on  June  7th  left  Newcastle  on  the  Pamunky 
River  for  a  grand  expedition  to  the  north  of  Richmond. 

For  a  few  days  the  army  was  inactive,  except  in  the 
preparations  for  future  movements;  but  on  June  lith,  this 
qui..t  was  disturbed,  by  the  orders  to  march  by  "  the  left 
flank."  With  the  rapidity  of  movement  for  which  Grant's 
special  troops  had  always  been  noted,  one  corps  of  his 
command  marched  to  the  White  House,  where  transports 


ULYSSES  SIMfSON   GRANT.  95 

were  in  readiness  to  transport  the  men  and  material 
around  Fortress  Monroe  to  the  James  River,  while  the 
other  corps  marched  east  along  the  northern  side  of  the 
Chickahominy  river,  the  right  crossing  at  Long  Bridge, 
the  left  moving  by  way  of  New  Kent  Court  House  and 
crossing  at  Jones'  Bridge. 

The  force  on  the  right  made  a  demonstration  as  if  to 
advance  up  the  Peninsula;  aud  having  thus  drawn  off  the 
enemy's  attention,  the  main  column  inarched  to  Charles 
City  Court  House  en  route  to  the  James  River,  which  had 
already  been  bridged  with  pontoon  bridges  in  anticipation 
of  the  movement.  Over  these  bridges  the  army  crossed 
to  the  South  side  of  the  river ;  General  Gram's  head- 
quarters being  on  June  the  15th  at  Wilcox's  landing 
on  the  north  side  of  the  James  River,  below  City  Point. 
Meanwhile  the  Corps  that  had  gone  around  by  the  James 
River  had  landed  at  City  Point,  and  at  about  one  o'clock 
on  the  morning  of  the  15th  of  June  was  on  the  march  for 
Petersburg— General  Grant  having  on  the  previous  day 
consulted  with  General  Butler,  at  the  latter's  headquar- 
ters, for  a  co-operative  movement  from  Point  of  Rocks. 

An  attack  was  made  on  Petersburg  on  June  15th,  and 
before  night  the  principal  line  of  outer  entrenchments 
was  carried.  This  line  of  works  was  about  two  miles 
from  the  city,  and  with  the  works  were  taken  several  can- 
non, prisoners  and  colors.  Next  morning  the  attacking 
forces  were  increased. 

The  rebels  at  Petersburg  had,  by  this  time  been  rein- 
forced by  large  bodies  of  troops  from  Richmond,  Weldon, 
&c.,  and  when  the  inner  line  of  works  was  attacked,  it 
was  found  to  be  very  strongly  defended. 

The  forces  that  had  been  operating  on  the  right  of  the 
army,  and  which  had  made  a  demonstration  as  if  to  the 
advance  up  the  Peninsula,  became  engaged  with  the  rebels 
near  Malvern  Hills  on  June  15th,  and  after  a  sharp  fight 
withdrew — having  gained  the  object  of  detaining  that 
wing  of  the  enemy  from  joining  the  forces  at  Petersburg. 


96  THE  LIFE   OP 

On  Friday,  June  17th,  another  line  of  works  was  car- 
ried ;  but  on  attacking  the  inner  line,  after  making  sev- 
eral assaults,  the  attempt  to  take  the  works  by  storm  was 
abandoned.  General  Grant  therefore  ordered  the  posi- 
tions then  held  by  the  Union  troops  to  be  entrenched. 
During  the  attack  they  had  advanced  to  within  a  mile  of 
the  city. 

General  Grant  then  began  to  inaugurate  a  new  system 
of  campaigning :  although  the  carrying  out  of  the  plan 
may  be  the  only  new  part  of  the  design.  About  the  20th 
of  June  he  ordered  a  brigade  of  troops  to  cross  to  the 
north  side  of  the  James  River  and  taking  up  a  position  at 
Deep  Bottom,  establish  there  a  post  under  protection 
of  the  gunboats.  The  main  object  of  this  movement  was 
for  the  purpose  of  keeping  a  line  across  that  part  of  the 
Peninsula  from  the  James  to  the  York  River. 

About  the  same  time  the  rebels  made  at  attack  upon  the 
right  of  General  Grant's  line ;  but  their  movement  only 
resulted  in  their  own  repulse. 

The  rebels  also  tried  to  stop  the  return  of  General 
Sheridan's  cavalry  to  General  Grant,  by  making  an  attack 
upon  the  White  House,  Pamunky  River  ;  but  in  this  they 
entirely  failed,  although  they  felt  quite  confident  of  suc- 
cess. 

Finding  that  direct  assaults  were  unavailing  on  the 
works  before  Petersburg.  General  Grant  on  June  22d, 
tried  the  virtue  of  the"  further  extension  of  his  left  flank 
movement ;  and,  under  the  cover  of  the  North  side  opera- 
tions, which  were  merely  feints,  he  moved  three  corps 
of  his  army  still  further  to  the  left  of  his  line.  Du- 
ring the  advance  on  the  left  a  break  of  the  line  took 
place  between  two  of  the  Union  corps  in  consequence  of 
the  troops  not  advancing  together.  The  rebels  discover- 
ing this  weak  point  broke  through  the  Union  forces,  and 
struck  each  corps  on  the  flank.  The  movement  might 
have  been  very  serious  to  the  Union  cause  had  not  Grant 
immediately  perceived  the  difficulty  and  strengthened  the 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT.  97 

weak  spot  by  ordering  up  other  troops,  thus  checking  the 
fury  of  the  rebel  onslaught. 

In  the  interim  General  Sheridan's  Cavalry  had  left  the 
White  House  to  join  General  Grant,  and  on  the  same  day, 
June  24th,  was  attacked  near  Jones'  Bridge,  <fec.,  while 
crossing  from  the  York  to  the  James  River.  The  attack 
•was  repulsed  after  a  sharp  fight,  and  next  day  Sheridan's 
Cavalry  crossed  the  James,  with  his  wagon  train,  cannon, 
&c.  The  position  at  Deep  Bottom  was  also  at  the  time 
being  strengthened  and  fortified. 

The  Armies  before  Petersburg  remained  comparatively 
quiet  until  June  30th,  when  a  demonstration  was  made  by 
a  portion  of  the  line  to  the  White  House  near  that  city. 
The  movement  resulted  in  drawing  the  enemy's  fire,  after 
which  the  corps  returned  to  their  old  position. 

A  force  of  Cavalry  meanwhile  started  on  a  raid  south 
of  Richmond  leaving  camp  on  June  22d.  During  the 
operations,  which  lasted  several  days,  sixty  miles 
of  railroad,  belonging  to  the  enemy,  were  thoroughly 
destroyed ;  the  Danville  Railroad  was  greatly  injured, 
and  thirty  miles  of  the  Sonthside  railroad  ruined.  All 
the  blacksmith's  shops,  where  the  rails  might  be  straight- 
ened, and  all  the  mills  where  scantlings  for  sleepers  could 
be  sawed,  were  committed  to  the  flames ;  and  during  the 
expedition  about  four  hundred  negroes  and  a  large  number 
of  horses  and  mules  were  brought  within  Grant's  lines. 
The  command  returned  to  General  Grant  on  July  the  2d. 

About  the  beginning  of  July,  1864,  the  rebels,  in  order 
to  divert  the  attention  of  General  Grant  from  his  plans 
before  Petersburg,  made  an  invasion  of  Maryland,  and  be- 
fore they  left  that  State  even  attacked  the  defences  of 
Washington.  The  Lieutenant-General  was  not  to  be  so  di- 
verted, but  allowed  the  enemy  to  come  north  of  the  Poto- 
mac; meanwhile,  however,  sending  troops  around  to  the  de- 
fence of  the  National  Capital. 

On  July  4th,  1864,  a  monument  was  erected  just  outside 
the  city  of  Vicksburg,  to  commemorate  forever  the  surren- 
der of  that  city  to  General  Grant.  The  monument  is  of 


98  THE   LIFE   OP 

white  marble,  surrounded  by  an  iron  fence,  the  whole  pre- 
senting a  neat  and  rather  imposing  appearance.  It  has 
a  square  base,  upon  which  stands  the  main  shaft,  surmount- 
ed by  an  ornamental  ball.  The  full  height  of  the  monu- 
ment is  about  twelve  feet.  On  the  Western  face  is  the  in- 
scription, 

SITE  OF  INTERVIEW 

BETWEEN 

MAJOR-GENERAL  U.  S.  GRANT,  U.  S.  A., 

AND 

GENERAL  PEMBERTON, 
July  3,  1803. 

The  armies  before  Richmond  now  began  to  settle  down 
to  the  quieter  mode  of  attacking  fortifications  with  fortifi- 
cations ;  therefore,  with  the  exception  of  an  occasional  dem- 
onstration from  either  side,  or  the  periodical  cannonading 
and  mortar  firing,  the  fighting  for  a  time  had  ceased.  The 
reorganization  had,  however,  commenced :  and  several 
changes  were  made  among  the  various  commanders.  This 
apparent  quiet  lasted  until  about  the  23th  of  July,  when 
an  attack  was  made  by  the  rebels,  who  had  been  threaten- 
ing for  a  few  days  previously,  upon  the  position  at  Deep 
Bottom,  The  enemy's  assaults  were  successfully  repulsed, 
and  Sheridan's  cavalry  crossed  to  the  north  side  of  the 
James  River  to  develope  the  position  of  the  rebel  forces. 
A  corps  of  additional  troops  was  also  sent  across,  and 
an  advance  made  upon  the  enemy's  works.  The  movement 
was  a  success,  the  works  and  guns  ol  the  enemy  being 
captured  and  held. 

The  troops  on  the  south  side  of  the  James  and  before 
Petersburg,  amused  themselves  by  vigorously  shelling  the 
city  during  the  time  the  foregoing  operations  were  being 
performed;  and  the  city  was  fired  in  several  places. 

During  the  whole  month  of  apparent  quietude,  miners  had 
been  at  work,  digging  a  mine,  intended  to  run  under  the 
principal  rebel  fort,  and  succeeded  in  their  excavations, 
the  mines  being  ready  about  the  last  week  in  July,  1864. 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON   GRANT.  99 

Six  tons  of  powder  were  deposited  under  the  fort,  and  at 
a  given  signal,  on  the  morning  of  the  30t)^  of  July,  men, 
mud  and  material' were  blown  high  into  the  air.  An  as- 
sault was  ordered  and  made ;  but  owing  to  some  miscon- 
ception of  orders  was  riot  properly  supported,  and  the 
whole  movement  thereby  proved  a  failure  with  a  heavy 
loss  of  life.  The  matter  was  afterwards  referred  to  a 
military  commission  to  enquire  into  the  cause  of  the  mishap. 

The  President  also  visited  General  Grant  to  enquire 
into  the  cause  of  the  trouble,  and  during  the  interview  be- 
tween them,  the  next  day  after  the  repulse,  the  General 
reminded  the  President  of  a  former  conversation  in  which 
he  had  said,  "  I  shall  meet  with  several  rebuffs  before  I 
get  to  Richmond,  but  I  shall  never  be  farther  away  than 
this,  and  I  shall  succeed." 

This  mishap  for  a  short  time  delayed  further  operations 
in  the  vicinity  of  Petersburg,  which  fact  being  taken  ad- 
vantage of  by  the  rebels  led  to  another  invasion  of  the 
border  counties  of  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania.  To  ob- 
tain proper  co-operation  in  resisting  this  rebel  movement 
General  Grant  visited  the  armies  in  Maryland  and  the 
commanders ;  after  which  he  organized  the  whole  of  the 
states,  embraced  in  the  four  departments  of  Washington, 
Susquehaima,  West  Virginia  and  the  Middle  Department, 
into  one  grand  Military  Division  under  General  Sheri- 
dan.* 

At  about  the  same  time  an  army  and  navy  attack  was 
made  upon  the  defences  of  the  harbor  of  Mobile  with 
great  success.  The  plan  of  this  movement  was  conceived 
by  General  Grant,  organized  by  General  Canby,  and  carried 
out  by  Admiral  Farragut  and  General  Granger,  t 

On  the  14th  of  August,  another  movement  was  made  on 
the  north  side  of  the  James  River ;  and  before  the  enemy 
could  resist  the  sudden  attack,  their  works  were  captured 
and  held.  On  the  16'tli,  also  the  fighting  north  of  the 
James  was  very  successful,  so  far  as  it  went ;  but  no  decis- 

*  See  "Life  of  Sheridan  "  for  the  success  of  this  plan  of  operations, 
t  See  "  Life  of  Admiral  Fairagut."    T.  E.  Dawley,  Publisher. 


100  THE   LIFE  OP 

ive  result  was  attained.  The  rebels  were  driven  back  four 
miles  with  considerable  loss  in  killed  and  wounded,  be- 
sides the  capture  of  over  four  hundred  prisoners  T\vo 
rebel  generals  were  killed,  and  a  large  number  of  wounded 
prisoners  were  also  captured. 

One  of  the  objects  of  the  movement  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Jarnes  River  was  to  draw  the  rebels  from  Petersburg, 
so  as  to  uncover  the  Weldon  railroad  ;  and  this  plan  was 
entirely  successful.  On  August  18th,  the  corps  on  the  ex- 
treme left  moved  out  and  firmly  established  itself  on  that 
road,  from  which  it  was  not  afterwards  removed,  although 
the  enemy  made  several  severe  attacks  upon  the  position 
thus  gained.  The  movement  was  a  complete  surprise  and 
the  Union  forces  were  at  once  strengthened  in  their  posi- 
tion; and  finding  Grant's  troops  could  not  be  driven 
therefrom,  the  rebels  withdrew  and  threw  up  defensive 
works  in  their  new  front. 

A  part  of  Grant's  forces  next  extended  their  left  as  far  as 
Ream's  station,  where  on  August  25th,  the  enemy  attacked 
several  times  during  the  day.  The  Union  troops  repulsed 
the  assault  every  time,  until  at  about  half  past  five  in  the 
evening  a  fearful  assault  was  made  on  the  centre  and  left 
of  the  Union  lines.  The  attack  was  probably  intended  by 
the  enemy  to  have  been  simultaneous,  as  the  rebel  forces 
had  formed  in  the  wood,  and  had  placed  their  artillery  in 
position.  Under  cover  of  a  heavy  cannonade,  lasting  for 
about  fifteen  minutes,  the  assault  was  made  ;  but  was  firm- 
ly resisted.  The  fighting  was  continuous  until  dark,  the 
enemy  being  held  in  check  by  the  artillery,  dismounted 
cavalry  and  skirmishers  of  the  Union  forces.  At  dark 
the  garrison  was  withdrawn,  leaving  a  safeguard  behind. 
The  enemy  made  no  further  advance  that  night,  and  when 
the  safe  guard  was  about  to  withdraw  in  the  morning  they 
discovered  that  the  enemy  had  fallen  back. 

The  upper  part  of  the  Weldon  railroad  nearest  Peters- 
burg, was,  however,  still  held  by  the  extreme  left  of 
Grant's  line;  and  although  he  had  by  the  withdrawal 
above  described  given  up  the  lower  part  of  the  road,  the 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT.  101 

line  of  communication  between  Petersburg  and  the  south 
by  this  route  was  still  severed. 

Again  the  armies  before  Richmond  settled  down  for  a 
time  into  comparative  quiet;  and  the  troops  were  em- 
ployed in  cutting  a  canal  at  I^itch  Gap  of  the  James 
River,  and  in  building  a  railroad  to  connect  the  extreme 
left  of  General  Grant's  line  with  his  head  quarters  at 
City  Point.  The  rebels  tried  to  interfere  with  these  ope- 
rations by  shelling  the  "workmen,  but  still  the  work  steadi- 
ly progressed.  The  labor  on  the  canal  was  indeed  great, 
and  after  the  war  is  ended  will  stand  as  a  monument  of 
engineering  skill  equal  with  that  which  reduced  Fort 
Pulaski,  Sumter,  Island  No.  10,  &c.,  and  through  which 
Charleston  was  shelled  from  the  swamp. 

On  August  16th,  1834,  General  Grant  wrote  his  famous 
letter  in  which  he  pointed  out  the  delapidated  condition  of 
the  South,  and  their  only  hope — a  divided  North  and 
mighty  unity  of  action  to  secure  victory. 

About  this  time  Atlanta  was  taken  possession  of  by 
Gereral  Sherman — the  occupation  of  that  city  being  the 
grand  result  of  the  campaign  which  had  been  inaugurated 
by  General  Grant  before  he  left  the  South- West.* 

On  September  5th  a  slight  movement  of  the  Union  forces 
on  the  left  was  made  to  obtain  a  better  position  ;  and  on 
September  10th,  another  movement  was  made  by  which  a 
picket  line  of  the  enemy  was  taken  and  their  entrenched 
position  captured  entire  without  scarcely  firing  a  shot. 

General  Grant  on  the  15th  of  September  left  City  Point 
ostensibly  to  pay  a  visit  to  his  family  in  New  Jersey  ;  but 
on  the  way  he  spent  a  few  hours  at  the  headquarters  of 
General  Sheridan.  What  transpired  there  is  not  record- 
ed ;  but  almost  immediately  after  his  departure,  General 
Sheridan  commenced  in  the  Shenadoah  Valley  that  vigor- 
ous campaign  which  resulted  in  the  complete  destruction  of 
Early's  army,  and  the  devastation  of  the  whole  region,  f 

*  For  details  see  '•  Life  of  Sherman,"   Price,   25  cents.    T.  fl.  JJaWlej, 
Publisher, 
t  See  Life  of  Sheridan. 


102  THE   LIFE   OP 

General  Grant  after  visiting  his  family  returned  to  his 
headquarters  at  City  Point  on  September  19th,  only  four 
days  from  the  time  he  left.  Long  furloughs  are  not  a 
portion  of  General  Grant's  military  routine  of  personal 
services. 

On  the  29th  of  September,  1834,  a  movement  was  made 
by  two  corps  of  Grant's  army  on  the  north  side  of  the 
James  River,  and  the  works  attacked  along  their  front— 
one  corps  carrying  the  very  strong  fortification  and  a  long 
tine  of  entrenchments  below  Chapin's  farm,  capturing  fifteen 
pieces  of  artillery  and  a  few  hundred  prisoners ;  while  the 
other  corps  carried  the  New  Market  entrenchments  on  the 
road  from  Deep  Bottom. 

When  the  foregoing  operation  had  been  fairly  begun, 
General  Grant  pushed  forward  his  left  flank,  carried  the 
line  of  works  along  the  front,  and  captured  a  number  of 
prisoners.  Another  portion  of  his  forces  took  possession 
of  the  rebel  works  at  Poplar  Grove  Church,  also  on  the 
left.  To  enable  him  to  accomplish  these  movements  on  the 
left  was  the  principal  object  of  the  advance  north  of  the 
James  River ;  for  the  rebels  immediately  weakened  their 
lines  opposite  Grant's  left  to  resist  that  movement. 

About  this  time  General  Grant,  finding  that  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  Shenandoah  region  continued  their  treacher- 
ous depredations  and  murders  on  the  troops  that  were 
actually  protecting  them  and  theirs,  issued  an  order  to 
General  Sheridan  embracing  the  following  words  : 

"  Do  all  the  damage  you  can  to  the  railroad  and  crops. 
Carry  off  stock  of  all  descriptions  and  negroes,  so  as  to 
prevent  further  planting.  If  the  war  is  to  last  another 
year,  let  the  Shenandoah  Valley  remain  a  barren  waste." 
Sheridan  carried  out  the  order. 

The  rebels  on  October  7th  attempted  to  turn  the  flank 
of  the  right  of  Grant's  army,  north  of  the  James,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  driving  in  the  cavalry  outposts,  and  capturing 
their  guns,  following  up  the  same  with  an  attack  upon  the 
infantry  along  the  New  Market  road.  The  infantry  sue- 


ULYSSES  SIMPSON  GRANT.  103 

ceeded  in  repulsing  the  enemy,  and  the  whole  of  the  attacks 
were  thereby  rendered  of  no  avail  to  the  rebel  cause. 

Cavalry  reconnoissances  were  made  at  different  times, 
and  on  October  llth.  a  force  started  to  scout  in  the  re- 
gion of  the  Southside  Railroad  as  |Ur  as  Stony  Creek.  This 
led  to  a  slight  engagement  and  ty&  capture  of  a  few  pris- 
oners. With  the  exception  of  this,  the  Armies  South  of 
Richmond  were  comparatively  quiet;  and  the  Dutch  Gap 
Canal  still  progresse^. 

Meantime  General  Sheridan  fought  his  grand  battles  of 
"  Cedar  Creek,"  by  which  he  cleared  the  Valley,  at  least 
for  a  time,  of  all  the  rebel  forces  therein. 

General  Grant  kept  his  troops  somewhat  advanced  near 
Hatcher's  Run  in  the  hope  of  inviting  an  attack,  which 
was  made  by  the  rebels  on  October  27th ;  and  in  the  end 
the  latter  were  repulsed  with  some  loss.  General  Grant 
then  drew  in  his  lines  to  their  former  position  to  await 
further  developments. 


CHAPTER    X. 


GENERAL   GRANT  S   PERSONAL   APPEARANCE. 

Those  who  has  never  seen  General  Grant  would  scarcely 
be  likely  to  single  him  out  from  the  hundred  others  on  the 
ground  before  Richmond,  as  the  man  whom  the  country 
recognizes  as  having  done  the  most,  and  of  whom  so  much 
is  expected,  to  crush  the  rebellion  by  hard  blows,  and  of 
the  exercise  of  those  qualities  which  enter  into  a  character 
of  true  greatness.  He  is  there  generally  to  be  ssen  en~ 
velopcd  in  a  rather  huge  military  coat,  wearing  a  slouch- 
in.',  hat,  which  seems  to  have  a  predisposition  to  turn  up 
before  and  down  behind,  giving  his  orders  with  as  few 
words  as  possible,  in  a  low  tone,  and  Avith  an  accent  which 
partakes  of  the  slight  nervousness,  intensity  of  feeling, 


104  THE   LIFE   OP  ULYSSES   SIMPSON   GRANT. 

yet  perfect  self-command,  seen  in  all  his  movements. 
General  Grant  might  be  described  best  as  a  little  old 
man — yet  not  really  old — who,  with  a  keen  eye,  does  not 
intend  that  anything  should  escape  his  observation.  At 
the  last  battle  he  was  yot  in  his  usual  physical  condition, 
his  recent  illness,  adoed  to  his  arduous  labors,  having 
made  him  lean  in  flesh,  and  given  a  sharpness  to  his  fea- 
tures which  he  did  not  formerly  h&ve.  Those  features, 
however,  go  far  to  define  the  man  o&  will  and  self-control 
that  he  is.  At  the  critical  moment  of  the  day's  opera- 
tions, the  muscles  seemed  to  gather  tighter  and  harder 
over  his  slightly  projecting  chin,  which  seems  to  hove  an 
involuntary  way  of  working,  and  the  lips  to  contract. 
There  is  in  what  he  does  or  says  nothing  that  has  the 
slightest  approach  to  ostentation  of  show,  but  the  palpable 
evidence  of  a  plain  man  of  sense,  will  and  purpose,  who 
has  little  idea  that  more  eyes  are  turned  on  him  than  on 
any  other  man  on  the  continent.  From  his  first  struggle 
at  Belmont  to  his  last  before  Richmond,  the  men  led  by 
him  have  fought  more  steadily,  fiercely  and  successfully 
than  those  of  any  other  portion  of  our  army.  In  looking 
back  over  the  history  of  the  war,  the  eye  rests  upon  no 
more  glorious  pages  than  those  whereon  are  written  Fort 
Donelson,  Vicksburg,  and  Chattanooga.  He  has  no  host 
of  flatterers,  holds  no  correspondence  with  politicians, 
never  grumbles  at  President  Lincoln  or  the  War  Depart- 
ment, does  not  consider  himself  a  persecuted  man,  and  is 
cheerful  and  content  with  the  position  and  duties  assigned 
him.  He  never  needs  to  be  ordered  peremptorily  to  fight 
the  enemy,  for  the  plain  reason  that  he  is  prompt  to  fight 
whenever  the  occasion  offers.  He  cultivates  no  popularity 
among  the  soldiers.  He  leaves  his  deeds  to  speak  for  him, 
and  takes  no  pains  with  his  reputation.  In  fact,  he  is  a 
model  for  all  our  officers. 

FINIS. 


uawieys  uamp  ana  Fireside  Library— No  L 

INCIDENTS 


BEING  EVENTS  WHICH  HAVE  ACTUALLY  TAKEN  PLACE 
DURING    TIJE    PRESENT   REBELLION. 

»  CONTENTS l 

in  escape.  Hurst,  the  Tennessee  «cout. 

.  Maryland  Unionist.  The  rebels  and  the  telegraph. 

<he  Snak«-hunters    of  W««t»*n  Vlrtiml*.  Preserving  the  Constitution. 

oki  .-  on  the  battle-field.  Scene  at  a  New  York  recruiting  office. 

.n  iiuriisitire  rebel  Daring  adrenture  by  Union  soldier*. 

oki '.'on  the  battle-field.  Death  scene  of  Captain  John  Or  swold. 

.alifornia  Joe  at  his  work.  Burn-ude  and  the  fisherman. 

.n  eseitinj  incident  «f  picket  life.  D  ubbmg  a  prisoner. 

£E  tKoV  fftgUti...  D^k  IMbM. 

jioiler  picket  story  A  female  spy. 

»SSH''f--         EESbrtsuM* 

lebelf.  caught  in  th«ir  own  trap.  The  Massachusetts  Sixth  in  Baltimere. 

'ould'nt   stand  it  *      What  they  all  need, 
dem'iohn  drilled   and  spiked  Gen.  Met 'all's  first  escape. 

n  i i  "ident  ot  the 'waiia^birg  baUto.  Probable  tragic  close  of  an  erentful  eareu. 

'learing  the  battle-field.  Rebel  practices. 

-T^rety  %£*"*•  1ffSS£&5«i: 

JScffi  of  ^'battle  of  the  ibrt,  Jfr^SSSSJSfa  Chicago  Fire  ZoW 

^r^^y^gphic  strateg..  Be^Ze^'and  ^Zl **  ^ 

Dawley's  Camp  and  Fireside  Library— No.  2. 

MERCEDES: 


A  Wild  and  Singular  Story. 


THK  scenes  of  this  strange  story  are  laid  in  California,  commencing  some  years  befon 
je  gold  mines  were  discovered,  and  brought  to  the  time  "  when  mobs  and  murders  wen 
8  plentiful  as  goldmi  slugs,"  when  gamblers  were  reckoned  right  and  proper  men,  am 
ambling  hell/were  the  saloon,  of  fashion  and  men  of  mind,  manners  and  money  •WDMC 
a-  msdves  therein  ;  when  theatres  outnumbered  churches,  and  play-books,  Bibles,  whei 
Dunezans  were  the  acknowledged  leaders  of  ton  ;  when  San  Francisco  rivaled  her  eld« 
atcrs  both  of  the  Old  and  New  World,  in  her  bowers  of  pleasare-for  here  was  &'*** 
ratification  in  every  sense.  Fortunes  were  made  m  a  single  .day 


nivwingboduioi  Lg.mil  offenders,  .wring  from  the  wide  windows 
Jooms  in  Battery  Street,  an  awful  example  of  ih.  due*  of  «vil. 

Price-15  Cent.,  each  number.    Mailed,  postpaid,  or  four  copies  f» 

T.  R.  DAWLEY,  Pablislwr, 

13  and  15  Park  Row.  New  York. 


DAWL.EY'8   TEN-PEIVNY   SONG   BOOKS. 


No.  1.-BALLAD3  OF  THE   WAK. 

CONTENTS: 

God  Save  Our  Nation,                14 

The  Fallen  Soldier,                      39 

Flag  of  the  Constellation,    t      15 

Roll  Call,                                       40 

War  Song,                            J        16 
He  Sleeps  where  he  Fell,/       17 

The  Union  —  Right  or  Wrong,   41 
News  from  the  War,                  42 

The  Red  Stain  on  the  Leaves,  18 

Song  of  the  Soldier,                   44 

Follow  the  Drum,                        18 

Our  UniQn  and  Our  Flag,           45 

The  Dying  Soldier,                      19 

The  Twh  Furrows,                      47 

Northmen  Come  Out,                  21 

Shall  FXedom  Droop  and  Die  ?  48 

Our  Country  is  Calling,               22 

To  the  Men  of  the  North  and 

The  Soldier's  Mother,                  23 

West,                                   50 

The  Dead  Drummer  Boy,            24 

Across  the  Lines,                       51 

The  Soldier's  Good-Bye,             25 

The  Captain's  Wife,                    53 

The  Volunteer's  Wife  to  Her 

Move  on  the  Column,                  55 

Husband,                              27 

The  Soldier's  Sweetheart,          57 

Kiss  me,  Mother,  and  let  me  go,  26 

Carte  De  Visite,                          59 

A  Mother's  Answer,  "  I  have 

The  Battle  Summer,                    61 

Kissed  him  and  let  him  go  30 

The  Rainy  Day  in  Camp,             61 

The  Soldier's  Dream  of  Home,  32 

The  Cavalry  Charge,                    64 

The  Response,                             33 

Lyon,                                             66 

Gone  to  the  War,                        34 

March,                                           67 

Gently!  Gently  1                         35 

On  Guard,                                     69 

March  Along,                               35 

Coming  Home,                             70 

The  Last  Broadside,                    37 

After  All,                                      71 

The  Patriot  Girl  to  Her  Lover,  38 

No.  2.-BALLAD3  OF  THE  SOUTH. 

CONTENTS: 

A  Cry  to  Arms,                           40 

Sweethearts  and  the  War,         45 

Another  Yankee  Doodle,            60 

Southern  Song,                            64 

A  Southern  Gathering  Song,      59 

The  Battle  of  Bethel  Church,    20 

Battle  Ode  to  Virginia,               41 

The  South  in  Arms,                    22 

Call  All  !    Call  All  !                      23 

The  Martyr  of  Alexandria,        25 

Confederate  Song,                      44 

True  to  his  Name,                       28 

Dixie,                                          26 

The  Star  of  the  West, 

Fort  Surater,                               33 

The  Tories  of  Virginia,  '            30 

Flight  of  Doodles,                       42 

There's  Nothing  Going  Wrong,  36 

God  Save  the  South,                   21 

The  Despot's  Song,                     50 

Justice  is  our  Panoply,               52 
Lincoln's  Inaugural  Address,     54 

The  Southern  War  Song,           52 
The  Call  of  Freedom,                 55 

Maryland,                                     37 

The  Soldier  Boy,                        58 

Manassas,                                     62 

The  Stars  and  Bars,                    67 

Our  Braves  in  Virginia,             69 

War  Song,                                  49 

Rebels,                                        35 

What  the  South  Winds  Say,     18 

Song  of  the  Southern  Soldier,  48 

War  Song,                                    32 

Southern  Song  of  Freedom,       17 

We  Come  !  We  Come  I              46 

Southern  Song,                            24 

Yankee  Vandala,                         66 

Southern  War  Cry,                     28 

DICK    DARE-DEVIL; 

4 

THE    OT^ESE    OF    GOLD. 

— 

A  STOtt  !•  of  L.&JVI*  and  SEA. 


This  is  a  most  singular  story,  of  a  young  man  who  was  cursed  by 
the  power  of  gold, — having  had  an  immense  fortune  placed  to  his 
credit  in  a  bank,  by  a  mysterious  individual  unknown  to  him ;  after 
which  he  became  associated  with  gamblers  and  bad  men.  by  whom 
he  became  involved  in  a  duel, — was  wounded, — became  a  wanderer, 
was  impressed  into  the  British  Navy,  where  his  eareer  commences 
as  DICK  DARE-DEVIL — a  dauntless  sailor,  and  one  of  the  most  daring, 
we  might  say  reckless  fighting  men  in  the  British  Navy,  through 
whose  means  the  "  Santissima,"  a  Spanish  corvette,  was  captured, 
loaded  with  an  amount  of  doubloons,  inordores,  and  pieces  of  Eight 
that  would  bo  astonishing  even  to  the  people  of  our  own  day. 

CONTENTS. 

The  Hero  of  the  Village— Thf  Storm— The  Mysterious  Stranger— H«  departs— 
A  Sudden  Fortune — He  becomes  a  Squire — A  Gambler — The  Duel — The  Escape — 
IB  Love — The  Forgery — The  Officers  of  Justice — The  Forger  blows  his  own  Brains 
wut — Our  Hero  a  Wanderer — Finds  Himself  on  the  Essex  Coast — In  the  Smuggler 
Dea-A  Narrow  Escape— Again   in   Trouble -Is  impressed   into  the  Nary -I 
dabbed  "  Dare  Devil  Dick  "—In  a  Storm— In  Action— Sent    Below— Sail  ho  l—j 
Ckase— A    Boarding  Party— Becomes   a   Hero— Captures   the  Corvetto-^Retorp 
H  me— Meets  his  old  Love— A  Fir«,  and  narrow  Escape— The  Allian«e,  &<x  &o. 

Sold  by  book-sailers  and  news-dealera  everywhere.  Price,  Tfc, 
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No.  13  &  15  PARK  ROW.  NEW  YORK. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  LOS  ANGELES 

THE  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARY 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below 


1 
291368 


.  "SHSWW 


1  OEC22 

DEC  09  1986 


FEB  1  0  1987 


3  1158  00817  2172 


